New day, new horrible way stores are creating waste. A Walmart shopper shared their story with Reddit about seeing dozens of plants thrown in the trash.
A Reddit post on r/plants sparked outrage when a Walmart shopper exposed the wasteful policy.
"I was at a Walmart in late Nov or early Dec and went to see what plants they had in stock (there weren't many) as I walked over a palette, there was another palette with a huge cardboard box that was open, I saw a bunch of plants just thrown in there sideways, upside down, etc. I then knew they were using it as a trash can and will end up just lifting the palette and dumping everything in the trash as they aren't selling and won't make it through the winter in their outdoor section."
Stores tossing perfectly good products is an all too common phenomenon. The practice has spawned a whole movement of dumpster divers trying to keep these items out of landfills.
One of the main issues with solid waste is that as organic matter breaks down in landfills, it forms methane gas. Methane is a potent planet-warming gas and is about 80 times more heat-trapping than carbon dioxide.
Fortunately, there are many solutions to our waste issues. The school lessons on reducing, reusing, and recycling are still the way to go. Reducing food waste in your home is a great place to start helping the planet and your wallet.
When it comes to waste on a larger scale, there are some great programs already in place. In the United States, the EPA has pledged to cut waste in half by 2030. We can look internationally for massive success stories like South Korea, as they have been able to recycle 95% of their food waste. As with food, there is an opportunity to keep plants from going to waste.
Folks on Reddit had many thoughts about this all-too-common occurrence.
One commenter said, "I'm enraged by this. I found this thread because I asked if I could kindly have a discount on a plant that was dying … They said 'well, if it's not marked clearance-then no, unfortunately'. This seriously screwed up the rest of my day."
Another Redditor familiar with the practice said, "A lot of those plants are salvageable too! I always try to buy off the clearance rack to save them from their doom."
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