A frustrated dumpster diver is drawing attention to a type of waste that hits a nerve with bargain hunters and environmental advocates alike.
They took to Reddit to lambast a store for deliberately destroying usable items before throwing them away.
Here's what to know
According to a Reddit thread on the site's r/DumpsterDiving forum, the original poster's complaint was not just that potentially usable goods were being discarded, but also that the store seemed to damage them first instead of simply marking them as unsellable.
The OP wrote: "They could just sharpie out the price sticker, but noooo, they'd rather make the environment suffer while pissing me off."
A commenter simply added: "This should be illegal."
The OP also said the battery-powered items raised a more serious concern than routine retail waste: "Rechargeable batteries can catch fire and explode if punctured or crushed, so they legally cant be treated like trash. … I'm tempted to snitch on them to the EPA."
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Commenters largely shared the OP's frustrations. One user wrote: "Once found a desk lamp with rechargeable battery still working. Makes you wonder how much e-waste gets buried just because it's easier than donating."
More background
When returned products, small appliances, lights, or furniture are intentionally damaged before disposal, items that could have been recovered or reused instead become landfill waste.
One alternative would be for stores to mark returned items as unsellable rather than destroy them before throwing them away. For products with rechargeable batteries, proper handling is especially important, as it can help to reduce both waste and fire risk.
Where can I learn more?
Other stories capture the same frustration over stores throwing away items that still seem usable.
• A dumpster diver filmed expensive electronics trashed by a store, underscoring how quickly reusable gear becomes waste.
• A retired Sears employee said workers had to destroy so much, revealing how store policies can fuel needless waste.
• At HomeGoods, a diver found products still good enough to use despite being dumped.
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