There’s got to be a better way.
A Reddit user highlighted a troubling and wasteful practice by Dick’s Sporting Goods by sharing a photo on the r/DumpsterDiving subreddit.
Photo Credit: Reddit
The image showed around 100 golf clubs allegedly destroyed by the retailer. They were found in a dumpster outside one of its locations, enraging the Redditor.
“I will never give this company a penny in my life,” they declared in frustration. “Could have given them to a charity, the boys and girls club, anything but no, broken.”
“Take them and get them reshafted,” a user suggested.
The community continued to encourage them to save different parts like club heads, shafts, and grips. As it turns out, another dumpster diver helped them out by grabbing many of the parts when they returned later. The OP also decided to resell what they could and donate the profits to Boys & Girls Clubs.
Nuun’s zero-sugar hydration tablets are a perfect, guilt-free way to enhance your water throughout the day. You’ll get five essential electrolytes for everyday hydration — with zero grams of sugar.
Plus, Nuun tablets are certified vegan and gluten-free, and they’re the perfect size to keep in your car, purse, or anywhere you’ll want a healthy, restorative drink.
While the updates were encouraging, this incident reflects a common issue of big-name retailers discarding perfectly good items. Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, explained why companies do it to the New York Times.
“The simplest and most expediate way for a retailer to dispose of something, typically of low value, is to mark it out of its stock and dump it,” Cohen said.
That often happens with food, even if it’s not past its best-by date. Similarly, beauty products and seasonal goods frequently end up in dumpsters when they either can’t be resold or go out-of-season. That’s a waste of products and something that can contribute to the problem of overcrowded landfills that heat our planet.
Sporting goods with hard-to-recycle components involving carbon fiber pose a challenge for disposal, making Dick’s move even worse for the planet. Fortunately, researchers are finding ways to reuse the materials while maintaining their high level of performance.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
Meanwhile, Dick’s has an equipment trade-in initiative at some stores that hopefully indicates a better commitment to finding uses for old and new gear alike.
Still, this situation rankled commenters.
One asked emphatically: “How do we MAKE CHANGE?? How do we make it illegal to destroy goods??? We need to do something.”
“The evils of capitalism,” another remarked.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club.
