While it's normal for any large organization or business to throw away some items, normally, they should be used up or worn out first. 

One high school student was disappointed to find that their school was throwing away unused items and supplies, which they fished out of the dumpster so they wouldn't go to waste.

What's happening?

The student posted photos in r/DumpsterDiving, saying that they were "disappointed" in the school's "wastefulness."

The photos show an incredible variety of items. Many were completely unused, while the rest were still usable. 

The haul included a three-ring binder, a roll of sticky labels, two Dell keyboards, a comic book, several textbooks, colored modeling clay, a walkie talkie, various batteries and cords, an Allen wrench, a desk organizer, and an awards plaque. 

Why is this example of waste concerning?

One commenter tried to justify the choice to discard these items. 

"Most of that stuff looks to be from the early 2000s,"  they said. "They have no use for it and probably can't legally give it away."

"It's all stuff currently being used in the school now," countered the original poster. "Except maybe the books." 

When schools and other organizations throw out materials that they could easily use, they waste money that could be funneled back into programs for the organization. 

This ultimately results in negative outcomes for students and teachers, such as fewer programs for students or lower teacher salaries. Saving a few binders or labels might not fund much of a raise for the staff, but too much waste can add up quickly.

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Furthermore, throwing these items out fills up landfills and causes unnecessary pollution. It also puts more strain on our manufacturing industry and wastes valuable resources.

Are schools doing anything about this?

While it might seem intuitive to repurpose these items, or at least give them away to someone who can use them, the commenter was not wrong that this is complicated for a school. Another user explained it in a later comment.

"If it's donated, they often include restrictions on selling it or giving it away to make sure the school uses it for its intended purpose instead of flipping it for some quick cash," they explained. 

"For example: In college, my buddy was taking a control systems class. Waring had donated two pizza ovens, that retailed for $1k each, for use in the class. … The professor was changing their curriculum and that was the last semester they'd be doing the oven challenge. 

"According to the terms of the donation, they weren't allowed to sell the ovens when they were done with them. They were only allowed to transfer them to another department within the university or trash them." 

What's being done about organizational waste more broadly?

Outside of these narrow examples, however, there's still a lot that schools and other organizations can do to reduce waste. 

Resources can be pooled between departments instead of requiring each teacher or department to supply their own binders and craft supplies, for example. This means that if one person has extra, it can go into a communal supply pile instead of being thrown away.

If you have items that you don't need at home, there are even more options. You can sell these items online or donate them to be sold at a thrift store.

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