The other evening, I tweeted about H&M and Wal-Mart destroying usable garments before trashing them, presumably so folks wouldn't dumpster dive for the free clothes. A friend responded that she had heard about a big food chain that pours bleach on perfectly edible baked goods that they're tossing into the dumpster at the end of the day.
A little digging revealed that at least the latter is a pretty common practice. But why would retailers go to such lengths to destroy irregulars and day old food?
The most common justification seems to be curbing liability. According to an article on TampaBay.com:
Stores have good reason to discourage Dumpster divers: If you get hurt while scavenging, the store could be in a lot more trouble than you. In 1992, two 9-year-old boys died from exposure to toxic chemicals after playing in the trash bin at Durex Industries plant in Tampa. A Durex executive pleaded guilty to a charge of storing waste illegally and had to pay each boy's family $400,000.
While that might explain the practice to some extent, I don't think it liability is a "good reason" at all.
Why not donate the clothing or food to charitable organizations that need it? That would not only help keep divers out, but it would divert those resources to folks who really need them. Stores could even brag on their donations. The crazy PR payoff seems like it would be more than worth the effort of coordinating with a local Salvation Army or food bank.
It's not like this food that's being tossed is rotten. The same TampaBay.com article quotes a grocery store spokesman:
"If you're smart — and they sound like they're smart — you can use our own standards against us," says Sweetbay spokesman Steve Smith. "Food safety is No. 1 at any retailer. Because of that, we will always put expiration dates that are before when the product actually would expire. You're always going to give yourself some padding. So they're smart in that you absolutely can eat that product — some products."
Another friend I was chatting with brought up this excellent question, "Wouldn't there be equal liability from someone eating/touching your bleach-soaked food?" I searched high and low for an answer to this but came up with nothing. Does anyone have thoughts on this? The only conclusion I can come to is that these businesses toss these goods because it's easier than donating and destroy them so no one can get them for free.
The thing that gets me is the mentality that it's OK to waste food and clothing in this way. When you get down to it, there's no good reason to waste food when folks are hungry or destroy garments when people are cold.
Taking Control
All of this is a harsh reminder that we live in a disposable society. I'm sure that these people aren't thinking, "Yes, let's keep clothing and food from people who can't afford them." These practices are a side effect of a society that doesn't value materials.
Next time you're at a grocery or clothing store that you frequent, you could try politely asking a manager how they handle their waste. If stores see that their customers care about this sort of thing, they might think twice before dousing that trash bag in bleach. I think the trick here is to ask in a way that doesn't come off as preachy, just concerned. Maybe framing it like, "I have a crazy question for you..."
I feel like this is one of those scenarios where our wallets are almost as powerful as our voices. Big companies aren't going to take responsibility for their waste unless there's a consequence, and taking our business elsewhere sends a message.
Better yet, we can take our dollars to locally owned and smaller businesses. Get to know the folks who make the things we buy.
My husband and I get veggies delivered from a local co-op where we pay monthly. One month, I forgot to leave a check and sent an apologetic email to the woman who runs the co-op. Her response? "I wasn't too worried. If someone needed the veggies badly enough to take them, they can have them."
That's what I'm talkin' about!
What are your thoughts about all of this? I'm feeling a little bit disillusioned. I knew there was a lot of waste in the food and clothing industries, but the practice of destroying usable goods just strikes me as so vindictive in a way. Is that a total overreaction?
Image Credits:
Dumpster. Creative Commons photo by marriedtopotatoes
Food Waste. Creative Commons photo by jbloom
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Thanks for the info!
I know when I worked at a shop years ago we were forced to pour out the tester and sample bottles of product into the trash before trashing them. I was told it was a tax thing so that the store would not be accused of using the testers, etc and some how have to pay differently? Never made any sense to me.
Yeah, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, either. How would they prove that they did or didn’t pour out the bottles? Very strange.
Hi Becky,
You are right on the money! It is absurd that these companies are being so wasteful. If we don’t change consumeristic disposable wasteful ways as a society soon many people are going to suffer some serious consequences. Including the Corporations who are the worst offenders. Thanks for bringing this to light.
Duane
Thanks, Duane! I totally agree…those practices are incredibly short-sighted because you’re so right – these companies will pay the price along with the rest of us.
Whenever I hear about this H&M and Wal-Mart story, I think about the homeless guy I saw on the subway a few weeks ago. It was freezing outside, and his shoes, jeans, and sweatshirt were more holes than fabric! How can Wal-Mart and H&M justify destroying clothing when there are people out there who could die from over exposure?
You’re right, we do live in a disposable society.
Great point. They can’t justify it. I think they prefer to ignore it. Hopefully, they won’t be able to for long.
That TampaBay article is way off base stating “If you get hurt while scavenging, the store could be in a lot more trouble than you.” They are completely missing the point of the 1992 lawsuit. The company was illegally disposing of hazardous chemicals. That is where the negligence lies.
In order to file a lawsuit for civil liability there has to be some type of injury or damages and the plaintiff has to prove that it was from some act of negligence or malice. There are other types of torts but they don’t really apply to these types of scenarios. If someone that is allergic to peanuts jumps in a dumpster and eats a peanut based product and goes into anaphylactic shock, the family is going to be hard pressed to prove any negligence on the stores side. Unless the store is violating the law or doing something that they know or should know will likely cause an unreasonable level or danger to the public, they are not going to be sued (or lose the lawsuit).
To be honest, pouring bleach on their food is likely to open them up to more liability because it serves no legit purpose and…
Sorry for digressing on that rant but it bugs me when the media (not you Becky but TampaBay.com) butchers the facts about a lawsuit to make it sound buzzworthy. With the exception of an outlying court that doesn’t follow the law, a burgaler that hurts himself when he’s climbing through your window is not going to win a law suit against you, despite what urban legends and the media will have you believe.
Back to the point. If a store says they pour bleach on the food to save them from liability they are either lying or idiots. The real reason is most likely that want to deter dumpster diving and animals because they pose an inconvenience and other potential hazards.
They should just bring the food down to a local soup kitchen or something but that takes time and isn’t easy so they aren’t likely to do it. It’s a great idea to ask stores so you can use the power of the purse when you shop but they may not be honest with you. When I was in high school I worked in a grocery store and we had huge bins for customers to recycle their plastic bags, and when those bins got full, they went straight to the dumpster.
On the topic of those stores destroying clothes, that is absolutely deplorable. There’s no excuse for it, it’s both environmentally and socially irresponsible.
There are two ways I see these problem being effectively changed…
By the way, great post!
the issue of liability doesn’t make sense because if it were true then they “the store” would be liable whether or not the items were intact. How does destroying items by ripping them up or bleaching them remove liability.
Yeah, I agree. I guess the argument goes that destroying the goods deters divers, thus decreasing the chance of something happening? But you’re right – folks won’t know the goods have been destroyed unless they go in there looking.
My nonprofit runs three food shelves, and we have lots of grocery stores donate food that is near or maybe at its sell-by date. Trader Joe’s, Cub Foods, Rainbow Foods all donate hundreds of pounds of food. So there are some good stores out there. Maybe it will take someone willing to volunteer to deliver the food.
That’s fantastic to hear! Maybe you’re right…it could just be a matter of someone volunteering. That’s a great idea!
You are correct. I work for a supermarket chain and it’s unbelievable how wasteful they are. One time, a manager wanted me to throw away a box of candy simply because it was deleted from the system (not authorized to be sold). Instead, I gave it away to other employees and kept the rest (donated some of it too). HELL NO I WASN’T GONNA THROW AWAY GOOD CANDY!!! I think food banks should put food bins into stores year-round instead of just around holiday time; might encourage stores to do less wasting.
Thanks for the fabulous article, Becky! This practice of waste is appalling! And Walmart expects us to “buy” that they are committed to employing more sustainable practices… hmmm… Another reason to avoid big box stores and buy local. Vote with your dollars!
Hi! That’s my dumpster!
I run a catering business in Portland, Oregon called Eat Your Heart Out Catering. Just for the record, nothing put in the dumpster pictured above is soaked in bleach. In fact, we donate our excess food to a shelter a few blocks away.
Interesting subject, I have heard of food establishments throwing away food that has sat out too long but not this bleach nonsense. Sounds like an awful practice.
Thank you so much for commenting, Chloe! It’s great to hear from a small business owner who’s getting it right. And great dumpster photo.
This is horrible. Last year, while sampling a delicious dessert at a Costco food demo toward the end of the demo hours … I joked with the demonstrator about the leftover goodies as she packed away her cart asking her what do they do with them. She told me that all leftover demo food must be thrown out. I asked her “What if you were demo’ing an 8 can bundle of tuna – what happens to any unopened cans of tuna left at the end of demo time? Are you allowed to donate them or take them home?” She said absolutely not ~ the strict policy is that all leftover food/drink MUST be thrown away … PERIOD … no exceptions! amazing.
Over the holidays, I let my Costco membership expire while I tried out BJs wholesale club via their free 60-day trial membership. My BJs trial membership is expires today & I want to return to Costco. Costco remains my favorite (followed by Sam’s & BJs is 3rd) – I’ve been a faithful member since they opened in my suburb 4-5 yrs ago due to their great customer svc, healthy items, great prices, etc. But, what good is all that if they’re tossing unopened containers of food out of the back door? It makes no sense … hypocrisy, cruelty, wastefulness despite the recession, world poverty, disasters & the ailing environment.
I plan to have a pleasant talk with a Costco VIP to determine if that policy is in effect b4 deciding whether to renew my membership. Meanwhile, I wonder how Sam’s handles their excess items.
i agree with you about bigbox waste i do not do any business at all w/any of these dumps toys r us ,bestbuy,target,walmart . ive had alot of bad experieces with these places. they also waste store signages as well ive been collecting these signages for many yrs. I DO NOT SELL THEM ON EBAY! the ones that i collect are pokemon i decorate my apt. w/them these people [term used loosely] do not care about what the customer wants .they just destroy this artwork .thank you for listening.