Major retailers often face significant issues with food waste, as they must discard any spoiled or expired items, which can add up if certain products fail to sell.

One Walmart employee documented the grocery baskets full of food they had to throw away, highlighting just how big a problem food loss is in stores.

What happened?

In the r/walmart subreddit, the employee uploaded several photos of carts filled with juices, boxed goods, dairy products, and other items. Hundreds or even thousands of dollars' worth of food down the drain, and it couldn't even be donated since it had expired. 

"A look back of how many expired things I pulled out of shelf's this year so far," the original poster shared. 

Commenters under the post lamented the food loss, and others held Walmart responsible for it.

"What [an] absolute waste," one person commented.

"This is why walmart needs people that all they do all day is zone and returns," another shared.
"Not like this 1-2 hours in the middle of people's shifts."

"Walmart has most staff cut down to a skeleton crew that's screwed if one person calls out on a shift," someone else said. "It's ridiculous for them to expect everything to be done, including stocking, zoning, rotating, disposal, and claiming."

Why is food waste concerning?

According to Feeding America, approximately 92 billion pounds of food are wasted in the country each year, which accounts for about 40% of all food produced by restaurants, grocers, suppliers, and consumers. Yet at the same time, 47 million people struggle to put food on the table. 

Aside from the socioeconomic issues with food waste, it also takes a huge toll on the environment when it accumulates in landfills. The World Wildlife Fund reported that food waste accounts for about 6-8% of all human-caused carbon pollution — the equivalent of around 33 million cars' worth of emissions in the United States. 

What single change would make the biggest dent in your personal food waste? Not buying food I don't need 🧐 Freezing my food before it goes bad 🧊 Using my leftovers more effectively 🍲 Composting my food scraps 🌱 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

When so much food is thrown away, it prevents millions of people from accessing food that most likely could have been donated, if deemed safe to eat. It's also a huge waste of other resources required to grow food, namely water, land, fertilizers, labor, and energy.

Is Walmart doing anything about this?

Walmart is actively working to reduce food waste across its operations, aiming for a 50% reduction by 2030 compared to its 2016 levels. 

A major part of this effort involves its partnership with Denali, an innovative waste disposal and recycling company that separates food waste from packaging. It has already implemented the technology at 1,400 stores and increased the volume of non-edible food recovered from packaging by over 60%. 

As for the food being tossed at the OP's store, it's likely just an issue with that location overordering or not rotating stock often enough. 

What else is being done to reduce food waste?

Some grocers, including Trader Joe's and Kroger, have been known to give away or donate thousands of dollars' worth of food when their freezers malfunctioned in a power outage. While food waste is a complex issue, these stores demonstrate that food can be donated if the proper steps are taken to ensure its safety and quality. 

If you have leftovers at home, you can always compost them or get creative in the kitchen to both save money and benefit the planet.

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