Sometimes stores have to throw away products. They could be damaged in transit, could be returns that are not suitable for sale, or could be something perishable that expires before being sold. But sometimes, stores take it to extremes, like one made by throwing away a toy with a slightly damaged box.

what’s going on

This example comes from a Reddit post from r/Target. The original poster claimed to be an employee who took a photo at work.

“WTF, Target? Are you real?” asked the original poster. “Let this rot in the ground? Really? It’s plastic; that’s so much pollution and waste for something that could be donated and give a smile to a little kid who might not have anything else.”

The photo shows a Chin doll with mermaid and unicorn themed accessories. The toys are in a clear plastic box with slightly crumpled edges, but there is no visible damage to the toy and no missing parts.

Why is a Barbie doll important?

According to the Redditor, this toy was headed for the landfill. While one toy won’t make much of a difference to the total amount of trash thrown away, this policy—that any damaged box be thrown away—is a major source of waste. The more items that end up in landfills, the more space is taken up by this slowly decomposing plastic that will last a hundred years or more.

Meanwhile, as the original poster pointed out, the actual toy was in mint condition and could have made a huge difference to a child in need.

Is Target doing anything about this?

Other people talked about how they try to prevent such situations.

“I threw such items in donations basket every time. Why waste something that can be enjoyed by someone?” said one user.

Meanwhile, target claims to work on the waste problem and said that by 2023, it has diverted 85% of operational waste from landfills.

Should grocery stores donate food that has passed its sell-by date?

Yes — as long as it’s not bad

Yes — but only certain foods

Only if it doesn’t cost the store

No — it could lead to problems

Click on your choice to see the results and express your opinion

What is done with plastic waste more broadly?

If you want to keep perfectly good items out of landfills while refusing to support wasteful corporations—not to mention save money at the same time—then you should shop thrift stores. Buying used products reduces the demand for new ones and helps give new life to items that would otherwise be thrown away.

You can also remove plastic by searching plastic-free alternatives on most products.

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