Walmart employee shares sad image about company policies: “feeling the guilt of customers asking what we are doing... sucks too”

A Walmart employee’s quiet act of rebellion – posting a photo of bags filled with unopened seed packets being tossed as trash – has stirred some frustration across social media, especially among fellow retail workers.

The photo, shared by Reddit user semperveni in a Walmart employee forum, shows what appears to be hundreds, possibly thousands, of seed packets – many still neatly packaged – piled into garbage bags. “F*** doing this,” they wrote. “Wish we could just donate them or SOMETHING. While also living in a bumpkin town, feeling the guilt of customers asking what we are doing with the seeds sucks too.”

The post hit a nerve. In small towns, where gardening is often more than just a hobby, tossing out usable seeds – some for flowers, others possibly for vegetables – felt, to many, like adding insult to economic injury. “Oh yeah,” the user added grimly, “there’s more seeds to throw away than just the photos.”

Why do retailers throw away unsold products?

In theory, unsold inventory is either returned, written off, or discarded depending on company policy, supplier contracts, and liability concerns. But for many workers on the floor, this logic doesn’t make emotional sense, especially when the items are still usable.

Walmart isn’t alone in this. Across Reddit, other retail employees have posted similar frustrations.

More retail employee ‘waste’ rage

At Lowe’s, user CombatBrute shared an image of a cart filled with just-expired chips. “Why do we have to throw all of this away?” they asked. “We get credit for billing it out, but why not donate it or at least let us leave it in the break room?”

Another post, by user Buckeyeonfire, showed several trolleys loaded with food. The caption simply read:“The amount of food wasted boggles my mind,” with one word, “Amazing.”

Will Walmart or other retailers take notice?

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