The internet hasn't been kind to Home Depot after images surfaced of viable plants in dumpsters rather than on the sales floor. A Reddit user added more fodder for social media's disdain.

What's happening?

While dumpster divers have previously had success rescuing plants from Home Depot dumpsters, this Reddit user warned them to stay far away from their store's bin. 

"For anyone wondering if you can go dumpster diving at Home Depot for old plants, we have a trash compactor that crushes everything," the user wrote. 

A photo reveals a mound of plants sitting near the compactor. Perhaps most appallingly, much of the greenery appears to be planted in plastic, which will soon be crushed into smaller — and likely unrecyclable — bits that will contaminate our environment for generations.    

Why is this important?

This waste is disturbing on multiple levels, as several commenters highlighted. 

"The plants itself are sad enough but all that plastic as well!" one commenter exclaimed. 

"Polystyrene is being crushed with otherwise compostable plant material. And we wonder why there are more and more extreme weather events," another vented. 

Landfills are a major source of methane pollution. However, composting organics can drastically slash this planet-overheating pollution.  

Meanwhile, even though severe weather events aren't anything unusual in history — and would continue to occur even without this waste of labor, energy, and resources — the warming climate is worsening droughts, floods, wildfires, and other extreme conditions. The burning of dirty fuels, such as gas and crude oil (used to make plastic), is primarily to blame, according to NASA.  

Is Home Depot doing anything about this?

Home Depot's 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance report and a media release revealed that the company eliminated EPS foam and PVC film from its private packaging in 2023 —  a significant achievement given that these plastics take at least 100 years to degrade. 

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This move prevented 6 million cubic feet of EPS (roughly 67 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth) and 39 million square feet of PVC film (enough to span 513 soccer fields) from entering Home Depot's value chain and resulted in lower shipping costs for right-sized products. 

Yet the company's efforts to reduce plant waste appear to be store-dependent. Some locations may lock down their plant waste to avoid troublesome pests from taking hold elsewhere.

"Our Home Depot just throws everything in a large bin and people pick through. A buddy of mine was so elated at all the plants/succulents," one commenter shared. "Now he has 2 plants. The Home Depot plants he scored had mealy's spider mites and thrips." 

"Scarier than a horror movie. It made me shiver while just reading it!" someone responded. 

What's being done about retail plastic waste more broadly?

Retailers such as Sephora and Ulta teamed up with Pact Collective to help consumers recycle their beauty empties more easily, while reverse vending machines are doing the same for the beverage industry. However, recycling isn't a silver-bullet solution to eliminating plastic waste. 

Collective efforts to support plastic-free brands and products reduce demand for more plastic by showing companies that it is profitable to invest in eco-friendly alternatives.  

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