An Aldi employee's tale may have some rethinking their impulse buys at the grocery store.

What's happening?

In Reddit's r/DumpsterDiving, the Aldi employee shared a photo of prepackaged items that shoppers had purchased and then returned. Because of that, they had to discard the food.

"Aldi has a policy that any returned food that's left the store has to be thrown out, so I tend to have to throw out otherwise perfectly good food," the Kentucky-based Reddit user said.

Other Redditors were surprised and saddened by the situation.

"That's a bizarre policy. I worked at Aldi's brother company for five years and we (understandably) had to throw away returned cold food because the cold chain had been broken, but shelf-stable food was just reshelved," one person wrote.

"Such waste…" another commenter said. 

Why is this important?

Food waste releases heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide and methane as it breaks down, contributing to rising global temperatures. This has upended the food systems we rely on, with farmers facing economic losses while struggling with the unpredictable extreme weather.

And Americans throw out a shocking amount of food every year — the equivalent of 145 billion meals worth over $473 billion, according to Feeding America. This occurs as millions of families struggle with food insecurity, and rising grocery prices are further straining household budgets. The average person loses $750 to food waste each year.

As for the foods in the Reddit post, they came prepackaged in a combination of tin and plastic, which is trickier to recycle than many believe. While tin is infinitely recyclable, throwing it in the dumpster means that the energy and material that went into it ends up as a sunk cost.   

Is Aldi doing anything to reduce waste? 

In the past, Aldi has gotten creative with food waste, tapping into a viral TikTok trend to turn leftover grapes into a healthy, best-selling dessert. As part of its waste reduction and recycling goals, Aldi also aims to cut food waste by 50% by 2030. According to its 2024 Progress Report, it donated more than 44 million pounds of food last year.

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The company also nearly tripled its food recycling efforts compared to 2023, shipping 5,951 tons of inedible food to composting and anaerobic digestion facilities. Meanwhile, nearly 80% of its Aldi-specific packaging is also recyclable, reusable, or compostable.    

What is being done about food waste more broadly?

Some companies and individuals are taking matters into their own hands to prevent food waste during unusual situations. For instance, Kroger and Trader Joe's locations worked quickly to donate or offload food during power outages to make sure items didn't spoil.

Others are turning to composting, while adventurous types may enjoy dumpster diving. The practice is legal in every state, though you should take care to avoid running afoul of local trespassing laws and take safety precautions, including wearing protective gear.

You should also be especially cautious with food items. As one Redditor pointed out, food can be tampered with, which is likely why Aldi declines to donate prepackaged goods to limit liability.

If you do decide to recover food from a dumpster, carefully check all security seals. Also keep in mind that certain products, including dairy and meat items, are unfit to consume if they surpass certain temperatures.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more information on food temperature safety.

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