In June, a TikToker posted a short but impactful video showing that Walmart was throwing away what he claimed was thousands of dollars' worth of food.
"Crazy walmart throwing away over $200,000 worth of food in one night," read the video description.
@impicklerick408 Crazy walmart throwing away over 200k worth of food in 1 night. #walmart #crazy #food #waste #foodpoisoning ♬ original sound - ImPickleRick#408
During the nine-second video, Indiana TikToker I'm Pickle Rick #408 (@impicklerick408) pans over a Walmart aisle packed from end to end with three long rows of carts. Each cart is full of food, including pre-made sub sandwiches and meat. The nearest cart contains T-bone steaks.
"I feel like there's already starting to be a slight smell," someone remarks from off-camera.
"Yeah, there is a heavy smell," the TikToker agrees.
Commenters speculated that there must be a good reason for the colossal amount of food waste, especially given the smell reported in the video.
"Coolers failed and temperatures were too high," said one user. "They have to do this by law."
It's possible the company is required by law to throw it all out, but it's also possible that Walmart could've given it away or sold it at a discount before it spoiled. Either way, wasting that much food is not cool.
Apps like Too Good To Go allow retailers to quickly sell food that's on its way to going bad instead of piling it all into the trash. Since food waste costs businesses money, selling it at a discount makes financial sense.
Throwing away food is bad for people and the environment. It denies food to people who need it, clogs up landfills, and wastes all the resources that went into preparing the food. Plus, shipping replacement items to the store creates even more air pollution.
The Cool Down reached out to Walmart to comment on the video but did not receive a response.
"When I worked at Walmart, we did this all the time," said one commenter. "When the fridge went out, my store manager told us to throw it away [instead of] donating it to people."
"So terrible to see it all go to waste," another added.
"Best way to stop this is don't buy from Walmart no more," suggested another user.
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