If you’re a savvy shopper, you probably know that buying bottled water is unhealthy and bad for the planet. Worse than drinking bottled water, however, is simply throwing it away. Unfortunately, a Walmart employee recently shed light on how the chain does just that.
What happens?
A Reddit user claiming to work for Walmart recently posted a photo from the back room showing a stack of water bottles containing several gallons of water waiting to be thrown out.
“The company says we can’t drink it, so we have to throw it away,” the Reddit user complained. They also claimed that Walmart forces us to “throw away gallons of perfectly good water every day.”
Why is this water waste important?
The original poster pointed out, “In our own country alone, there are many places that are suffering from a serious water crisis and Walmart is just throwing this crap in the trash.” He added, “This needs to be made public.”
Droughts in California, Arizona, Colorado and other parts of the US are having dramatic effects. Many people are facing water shortages and rising water prices. Unfortunately, large corporations seem to be doing nothing to reduce water waste.
To make matters worse, the plastic bottles left behind after the water is drained cause their own problems. Plastic waste releases harmful microplastic particles that pollute soil and water and can eventually be ingested by humans with unknown health consequences. Since the plastic material takes a century or more to decompose, it remains in a landfill or as waste all this time.
Is Walmart doing anything about it?
Walmart has often been criticized in the past for throwing away products that employees and community members wanted to buy or donate.
However, the company also prides itself on its initiatives to reduce waste and recycle discarded products. According to the company’s website, as of 2020, the company diverted over 80% of its global food waste from landfills and incinerators and donated 627 million pounds of food in the United States.
What can I do to prevent water waste?
The more people buy reusable water bottles and refill them at home, the less incentive Walmart and other companies will have to sell bottled water at all—hopefully resulting in fewer bottles being wasted as companies stop putting them on shelves. That also means less plastic waste ending up in landfills or entering the environment.
There are now a number of ways to reduce water waste at home. You can switch from water-guzzling grass to a lawn of native plants that use species adapted to the natural rainfall in your area and don’t require additional water.
You can also install water-saving appliances and fixtures in the home. This is not only good for the environment, but also good for your bank account as you reduce your monthly utility bills.
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