Sealed snacks and drinks found in Staples dumpster spotlight a hard-to-ignore waste problem

After uncovering many sealed drinks, snacks, and other discarded items in a Staples dumpster, an expert dumpster diver said they had "hit the Staples jackpot."

Here's what to know

The dumpster diving footage showed the diver (@DumpsterLegend) pulling packaged food and drinks from a Staples dumpster. The haul also included other items like shoes and other clothing.

@dumpsterlegend We Hit the STAPLES JACKPOT 😳 PRIME Drinks & MORE! We went dumpster diving at Staples and definitely weren't expecting THIS 😂 We found a huge haul of PRIME drinks, sodas, snacks and a bunch of other stuff! Every time we thought we were done, we found something else. It's crazy seeing how much perfectly good stuff gets tossed out. Definitely one of our better Staples scores lately! 🔥 Would you have taken all of this home? 👀 #dumpsterdiver #dumpsterdiving #dumpsterdive #DumpsterDivingHaul #dumpsterdivingpaysmybills ♬ original sound - DUMPSTER LEGEND - DUMPSTER DIVE LEGEND

The dumpster diver wrote on TikTok, "We found a huge haul of PRIME drinks, sodas, snacks, and a bunch of other stuff! Every time we thought we were done, we found something else."

While sorting through everything, the creator points out some date labels that read "August 2026," indicating that at least some of the items were either still within their best by date or only slightly past it. 

One commenter wrote, "I don't understand why this isn't at least offered to employees. But good for you."

Another person shared, "Chips [are] still good for a good couple of weeks after the expiration date because it's still closed & in an aluminum foil bag."

More background

Videos like this can make retail waste feel more concrete.

There can be many reasons products get trashed, including damaged outer packaging or store rules that prioritize disposal over discounting or donating. But when shelf-stable goods are sealed and appear intact, that waste can be hard to justify.

And when edible products are thrown away, that wastes the food and drinks themselves as well as the water, energy, transportation, and packaging used to make them.

At the same time, food donations are not always simple. Products must be handled and deemed safe for human consumption before they can be redistributed.

But there are many steps stores can take to make donations and other actions that reduce waste easier. They can expand markdown programs for short-dated goods, improve inventory tracking, and partner with local food banks to handle safe donations. 

Even offering certain products to employees before disposal could keep usable items out of the trash. After all, any action is better than nothing.

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