How Dumpster Divers Became Sustainable Heroes | One Small Step

Garbage bags fulls of lettuce, $100+ worth of vegan soup, dozens of edible bagels — here’s what we found (and found out) dumpster diving in NYC on this week’s episode of One Small Step.
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Dumpster divers not only find usable goods, but they post on social media to bring attention to waste and create change within the retail system. At a time of historic income inequality, food insecurity, and a global pandemic, the retail practice of throwing out usable goods and edible food is unjust and unethical, as well as bad for the environment.

According to ReFed, retailers generate 10.5 million tons of surplus food per year. Of that, only 20% is donated, 30% goes to landfills, and the remaining 44% is composted, used as animal feed, or turned into biogas. This food is often tossed when the product isn't sold before the 'use by' date has passed — but in the U.S., except for baby food, 'use by' date has nothing to do with food safety.

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