A popular Reddit post revealed how a recently opened Little Caesars Pizza location in Lisbon, Portugal, allegedly disposes of its uneaten pizza at the end of the business day.
The post, shared in the subreddit r/Anticonsumption, showed numerous images of perfectly edible pizza in the pizza chain's trash bins, which has received hundreds of views and comments globally.
"Two days in a row I checked their bins out of curiosity," the Redditor wrote. "Can't say I was surprised."
Around the world, an estimated 1.4 billion tons of food goes to waste each year, all while millions of people in our communities and beyond struggle with food insecurity.
Uneaten food accounts for an estimated 8% of all planet-overheating gas pollution globally. And this does not account for the amount of water and land that is required for food production, especially food that comes from animals, like meat and dairy. Every time food is wasted, all the resources, energy, water, and land that went into the production of that food also go to waste.
As individuals, we can reduce food waste by taking leftovers from restaurants home. When buying food at the supermarket, plan ahead to avoid overshopping, which will also save you tons of money in the long haul.
Some food retail policies also cause food to go to waste, as one Redditor said in reference to the Little Caesars photos.
"20 years ago we would keep the ones that were in the warmer longer than 30 mins in the walk-in to take them home after our shifts or give away," they wrote. "But then management decided we couldn't have free things and made us start throwing them away right away."
Another commenter added, "When our boss found out we were giving away free food at close he called the owner of our location and he straight up came in and lined us up to talk to us. He was all like 'I own these pizzas. Giving them away for free is stealing from me.' It literally would cost him nothing to give them away. But he'd rather let them rot."
"I find it heartbreaking," said a third.
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