A shocking photo shared by a Walmart employee in the r/Walmart subreddit showcased just what happens to all the unsold, perishable food during a power outage.
The now-viral photo shows dozens and dozens of shopping carts filled to the brim with food, waiting to be taken away by sanitation services. After a 12-hour power outage, the food was deemed unfit to sell and would instead be sent to landfills to rot.
"All that money, gone," wrote the employee in the caption.
"Who cares about the money," responded one user. "The amount of food waste going on here is astounding…"
The food captured in the photo will join the 92 billion pounds of food (or 145 billion meals) wasted every year in the United States.
After being dumped in landfills, wasted food rots and produces methane, a powerful polluting gas 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food waste in landfills contributes more methane than any other type of waste in landfills, accounting for approximately 58%.
While consumer-facing businesses like Walmart account for a large portion of total food waste — about 29% when you include restaurants, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council — most U.S. food waste actually occurs in the homes of consumers, accounting for approximately 37% of total waste generated.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to curb the amount of food waste your household generates. Composting is a simple and effective way to reduce your household's food waste and return vital nutrients to the earth for future food production.
The Cool Down has also covered numerous food scrap and storage hacks to help you stretch the number of meals you can make from one grocery trip and increase the shelf life of your food.
In response to the sheer amount of food waste pictured by the Walmart employee, users on Reddit wished the food could have gone to people in need, rather than straight to the landfill.
The post's top comment said, "It's crazy that this is ok but if you had sent a text out on Facebook and told people that they could come get this food, that would be illegal."
"Can't [Walmart] just say, 'Hey, if you take this food and get sick, that's your own risk. We don't advise you to eat it, but won't stop you,'" one person wrote.
"If they give it away they can't file an insurance claim on it," someone responded.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
