It’s an unfortunately common practice in modern business for stores to throw out unsold merchandise. Sometimes these items are trivial, like Funko Pops, and other times they’re essential and badly needed, like pet food. One trasher recently came across hundreds of pounds of dog and cat food, according to a Reddit post documenting the experience.
what happened?
“Pet store haul,” the original poster wrote, sharing a photo of 10 bags of pet food of various brands and sizes.
Photo credit: Reddit
“They are all unopened and don’t expire until 2025,” the original poster added. “Most of the bags are between £25-50! This could have provided so many people struggling right now with some much needed help for their pets. It makes me so angry to think this has all gone to waste.”
Users commented that the store usually rips open pet food bags to make them unreturnable: “We just got lucky this time. They must have been lazy. Only two bags were ripped,” one user said.
The poster commented that he “cannot understand” why food was being thrown away and destroyed.
Why is wasted dog food a problem?
There are a lot of cats and dogs out there who need care. Shelters are always looking for donations, but each year the number of animals in need seems to be increasing. If shelters could receive more supplies, like leftover food from pet stores, they could help more animals. This is a win-win for both the pets needing homes and for people who will see fewer stray dogs in their communities.
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On the other hand, when a product is discarded, the resources that went into its production are wasted. The more we waste it rather than using it efficiently, the more industry expands to meet demand, with greater negative impacts on the environment.
Is the company doing anything about this waste?
The original poster declined to name names, but said the culprit was “probably the biggest chain when it comes to pet stores,” meaning they were likely referring to either PetSmart or Petco, as the two combined account for nearly 40% of the pet store market share, according to Statista, and no other brand comes close.
According to PetSmart’s website, the chain plans to keep 75% of its waste out of landfills by 2030. It doesn’t specify how it will do this, but donating food would be a great way to achieve this.
Petco’s website also has language about reducing waste, but it’s more vague.
What can you do about commercial waste?
Even if you don’t go dumpster diving to salvage discarded pet food, you can still hold companies accountable by shopping elsewhere. Look for stores that have environmentally friendly policies, which are often small and local.
You could also switch to more environmentally friendly brands of pet food, such as pet food made with insect protein.
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