Dumpster diver shares shocking photo of Dollar Tree trash overflowing with discarded food: ‘It’s always a shame’
After a disappointing dumpster-diving session, a Redditor posted a photo of the incredible waste at their local Dollar Tree.
The user shared what they found on r/DumpsterDiving, a subreddit where users share advice and stories about dumpster diving. While many companies try to prevent it, taking discarded items from the trash is a great way to save money and is legal in all 50 states (although trespassing is not).
Unfortunately, many stores and restaurants throw away perfectly good food. If a smart dumpster diver gets to it before it spoils, they can get a full meal — or more. But that’s not what happened this time.
“Literally an entire dumpster filled with frozen foods,” said the Redditor, sharing a picture of a dumpster full of beef patties, egg rolls, pepper poppers, Hot Pockets, pizza, and more.
But what might have been a prize earlier in the day was ruined by the time this user found it. “I didn’t take any because it was long since thawed,” they said. “This makes me so sad and angry … ”
Food waste is a problem for people, businesses, and the environment. Much of the food that businesses throw away could be used to feed people, while throwing the food out is a waste of money for the business. Plus, it means the business has to ship in more food to replace it, creating air pollution from trucks and trains while wasting the resources needed to make more food.
Many commenters were just as unhappy as the original poster, and some shared similar stories.
“I worked at a food distributor long ago,” said one user. “Had a frozen truck full of Starbucks pastry stuff — 17 palettes of wrapped, frozen food … except the truck (which was visually clean) had previously been used to carry frozen fish.”
According to them, the food was well-wrapped and in good condition. “Didn’t matter. Starbucks paid our distro to get a 20-yarder dumpster and throw it all away, with pics as evidence, so no saving any of it.”
However, other users hoped there might be a practical reason this time. “My sister-in-law is a manager at a Dollar Tree,” said one commenter. “One time she told me their coolers went down and it wasn’t until the next morning that they noticed. Nothing was salvageable … It’s always a shame when stuff like this happens.”
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