Stores Caught Dumping Items That Could Be Given To Charity.

[deb1]

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I agree. We always need to be aware of our own practices.

I try very hard not to waste but we have all been guilty of doing so. Sometimes people get overwhelmed with how much is wrong with the world and think that they can do nothing to help. But we can.

It might not seem like a big deal to donate to a drive for coats or to give donate school supplies, but it all adds up in the long run. And you really can make a difference. If everyone did these things, think how much we could help others. We have a lot more power then we think that we do.

Now you are talking on a personal level, we can all appreciate to need for charity, lets start there!

But why would deciding where to shop not be personal? It all factors in, doesn't it? They are all individual choices that we make so that we can make a difference in the world.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

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I don't see eating steak as a waste. You are supporting the people who raise the cattle, aren't you? So you are helping people keep their jobs. I also don't see giving food to animals to be wasting it because it is going to use. If you dumped the leftovers in the trash that would be a waste.

A charity would probably not take the food that you had left on your plate anyway.

This thread is good because it seems to be turning into a discussion on ways that we can help others on our own.

I really believe that small actions can help.

Darn it. I got a syntax code from you too. You are all in a plot against me.

The same could be said for the workers manufacturing the items that are tossed in the trash. It is job security if there is a need for more to sell!
We need to start or work at home.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
I don't see eating steak as a waste. You are supporting the people who raise the cattle, aren't you? So you are helping people keep their jobs. I also don't see giving food to animals to be wasting it because it is going to use. If you dumped the leftovers in the trash that would be a waste.

A charity would probably not take the food that you had left on your plate anyway.

This thread is good because it seems to be turning into a discussion on ways that we can help others on our own.

I really believe that small actions can help.

Darn it. I got a syntax code from you too. You are all in a plot against me.

The same could be said for the workers manufacturing the items that are tossed in the trash. It is job security if there is a need for more to sell!
We need to start or work at home.

Because the items aren't being sold anyway, I don't think that it would increase or decrease the amount of goods needed to be made.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

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The same could be said for the workers manufacturing the items that are tossed in the trash. It is job security if there is a need for more to sell!
We need to start or work at home.

Because the items aren't being sold anyway, I don't think that it would increase or decrease the amount of goods needed to be made.

Its marketing hun...if they just give it away....it would put out folks out of a job. Most markets in the US rely on demand, if they give excess away, there would not be as great of a need to produce new products.

 

[ChickBond 007]

Hypothetical: Let's say that I accepted the attitude that I should boycott certain stores because of their non-charitable-giving attitude. So I choose to shop somewhere other than Walmart, spend more money on the same items because Walmart is cheapest, and then balancing my checkbook at week's end, I find that I cannot donate the usual amount to the food pantry charity my church uses because I spent more at the department store instead of cheap shopping at Walmart. Well, that doesn't work out to helping many... does it? Did I really make a difference? Walmart was still packed full of shoppers.

Sometimes it feels great to "rage against the machine" and big business, but it is not very practical in the typical middle income life. It is much more practical to find a way to push oneself to make a bigger difference in their personal life, personal income, personal service/charitable giving. JMHO

 

[mom'sfolly]

This is my opinion.....please take it as so

We make lots of ethical/moral choices everyday. Some big and some small, and they may make differences immediately or over time.

For me, I choose to not shop at Walmart for ethical reasons. I may end up paying more for certain items, but I don't think I end up spending a great deal more overall. I feel that buying paying more for the items I buy, and not supporting certain business practices, I help get people paid a living wage, help keep children out of foreign sweat shops, help support sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, and other things. Walmart does very well on one front, and that is energy efficiency. It does not this out of any great love for the environment, but for the savings it provides the company. So while I may have less money in my pocket, the way I've spent my money continues to do good. I hope...

Where I spend my money for food, clothing and other items is a way for me to vote with my money, and in the long term this is probably more effective than any other tool.

I also give what I can to charity, and donate time and energy to things I believe in.

I donate used goods mainly to my local serving center. I know how they handle their items. Resellable items are sold in their store, with the money returning for community support, items they cannot sell go to the Salvation Army, any unsellable clothes from the Salvation Army are generally sold by ton weight for rags.

When I donate to charities, I also look at the overhead costs of the charity. Some "charities" spend 70-80% on fundraising and administrative costs; these types don't get my money.

 

[AHappychick]

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Now you are talking on a personal level, we can all appreciate to need for charity, lets start there!

But why would deciding where to shop not be personal? It all factors in, doesn't it? They are all individual choices that we make so that we can make a difference in the world.

exactly and many of us do not waste at least not so blatantly as that. I for one re-use every little thing, recycle and donate so I don't see why I should not demand it from the companies that have gotten rich off the public.

As for going through their trash all those employees should tell the stores to stick it since once it is trash it is no longer theirs and ANYONE can take it. They have some nerve threatening people who don't know any better. And if the garbage is in a dumpster on the sidewalk it isn't even trespassing like in NYC. Ugg how dare they.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The reason I heard given by these big stores for destroying discarded merchandise & forbidding dumpster diving is because some folks were digging items out of the dumpster and bringing them back to the store to return for store credit. The stores were losing money because these were not items that had been previously purchased. So perhaps it isn't the Bad Ol' Corporation to blame, but the greed and deceit of enough individuals to ruin things for the rest of the community.

There are also enough folks who will attempt, and perhaps win, lawsuits for damages against a company for injuries they sustained while diving in their dumpsters. Thus the reason for forbidding access to dumpsters. You cannot claim access to anyone's garbage just because they've put it in their dumpster, especially if it is on their property. They have a right to say Keep Out Of My Garbage Container, especially if others have caused them problems after doing so.

I think there were enough similar problems with donated surplus food to make many stores & restaurants leary of giving away much of their leftovers. I do know that Panera Bread has a big "Dough-Nation" program and gives away a lot of their leftovers. In my town they give to different charities each day of the week, and a local church gets it on Thursday nights, so on Friday mornings they offer it to anyone in need. Here is a link to information about it: http://www.panerabread.com/about/community/

Like others have said, the bottom line is finding ways that YOU can be charitable & generous instead of pointing fingers at others whom you think should be doing so.

(Edited to add link)

 

[AHappychick]

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ok so remove the tags and give to a charity in the time it took to destroy each item they could have bagged them and driven them over to any shelter or charity.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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This is not the law. Just because it's placed in a dumpster doesn't mean it's not still theirs. And especially in containers still on their property. Which most businesses must use, and pay a private company to haul away. Certainly if you throw something in a public trash container on public property it's up for grabs, but not in one on your property.

How would you feel if someone went through your garbage cans and took out items they later used to cause you harm or loss? If they found documents with information to steal your identity? Especially if they took them out of containers that were still behind your house, on your property? What if they went through your garbage cans and left broken glass & sharp metal in the grass and someone in your family got hurt? Now if they knocked nicely on your door and asked politely if they could have something you were throwing away you'd probably say yes. But then how would you feel if they turned around and sued you for personal injury because they later hurt themselves with your discards? How willing would you be to give away your discards to the next person who asked?

If you're really bothered by companies throwing away useful things then find a way to contact them and see if you can work out a better solution. I'm sure there is a way you could help.