Recently, a Walmart employee wrote on the internet about a strange and infuriating incident at his store. It involves something tiny but revealing: seed packets.
Here’s what happened and what it reflects about all of us.
A post on Reddit by a Walmart employee included photos of dozens of packets of wasted seeds, unopened.
It had disturbed the employee in the past, especially when customers asked what had become of the seeds.
The photos showed garbage bags full of packets of seeds, likely thousands.
“Wasting all these packets of seeds hurts,” the employee wrote. “Wish we could just give them away or SOMETHING.”
Why does this matter?
- Those seeds might have given people flowers or food.
- Gardening is a mental and physical health benefit, and a cheap, fun hobby for many people.
- Some of them might have been vegetables — that’s free food for a neighborhood or community.
- Instead of the landfill, they could have been donated to community gardens, schools, or civic organizations.
What’s the bigger picture?
There is no seed wastage.
- Walmart invested money in having those seeds planted, packaged, and shipped.
- When businesses waste items, it drives the price of other items higher.
- Even if you never purchased seeds, you might pay for this trash in the form of a higher price.
- It generates even more trash and landfill waste, which is not great for the Earth.
What does Walmart have to say?
Walmart states that they do everything they can to keep 90% of its waste out of the landfills.
They’re discussing wasting nothing and collaborating with suppliers to become more sustainable.
But this exact issue—getting rid of those seed packets when they’re empty, has not been addressed specifically.
Some store managers choose to just dispose of them.
What can you do?
Unfortunately, I could care less if Walmart even sells old seeds, so you can’t reuse them that way.
But here are some things you can do:
- Plant your garden and save seeds from the fruit you harvest.
- Share seeds with neighbors or community garden plots.
- Complain if you see a store with trash; politely ask and encourage them to check and see if there are donation policies within the company.
- Praise companies that distribute expired products rather than throwing them away.
Last words
It is not a few packets of seed; it is about something larger: how we treat the world, how we care for our communities, and how we treat resources.
My colleague had something to say. Maybe if we all say something, shops will too.
Let us not waste what could be good.
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