A Walmart employee started a discussion on Reddit after sharing a photo of dozens of water bottles destined for the trash.
What happened?
The Reddit post in the r/Walmart community showed a cart filled with unopened water bottles from many different brands headed for disposal, evidently due to some degree of damage to the packaging.
"Will absolutely never understand why they throw all this water away ... instead of giving it to the employees," the original poster wrote, frustrated by their store's policies.
The post drew responses from other Walmart workers who shared different experiences. One commenter wrote, "Our store gives it to the employees (ogp, cart pushers lawn and garden and breakroom) cart pushers and lawn and garden have coolers with ice and breakroom keeps it in the fridge."
This suggests the issue may not be a corporate mandate and is more local to how a particular store manager operates the location, but with stores as big as Walmart, that can still lead to a lot of waste over the course of many years.
Another said those working outside in the heat could especially use the water: "Especially the cartpushers," they wrote. "Raise your hand if you work in 100° heat."
Why is water bottle waste concerning?
Throwing away perfectly drinkable water compounds the environmental harm done by creating and shipping the bottles in the first place. Manufacturing plastic bottles requires petroleum and energy; transporting them burns fuel and produces pollution. When these bottles end up in landfills instead of being consumed, all those resources go to waste.
These bottles take almost 500 years to break down. They release microplastics into our soil and water systems throughout that time.
While food waste involves complex safety regulations before the items can be donated and composting offers a secondary solution for organic materials, bottled water faces fewer barriers to redistribution.
Is Walmart doing anything about this?
Walmart has made various sustainability commitments, including goals to achieve zero waste in its operations. The company has recycling and waste reduction programs across its stores.
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Heck yes 👍 However, individual store practices vary. Some locations have robust systems they use to redistribute products to employees, while others follow strict disposal protocols and trash perfectly good food and beverage items.
This inconsistency suggests there are opportunities for better standardization of waste prevention practices across all Walmart's locations.
What's being done about retail waste more broadly?
Other retailers have shown that avoiding unnecessary waste is possible.
When an Arkansas Kroger lost power during storms, the store donated 1,500 pounds of food to local food banks rather than throwing it away. Trader Joe's, too, has worked with food banks during power outages to prevent unnecessary waste.
Consumers can help by supporting businesses that prioritize waste reduction and speaking up when they witness unnecessary disposal. Many states have also begun to pass laws that make it easier for businesses to donate products without liability concerns, such as Maine and Oregon.
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