There's risk for me releasing this information, as all Walgreens employees are required to sign an NDA as part of their onboarding, so please don't let this fizzle out without any traction. Please spread this information so they can't escape their misdeeds. Here's the issue: Walgreens is an extremely wasteful company, and their shady practices can't go unnoticed any longer just because they scare employees against speaking out.
Walgreens has a system for unsaleable products that they call “1506ing,” where any product with damaged packing, is near to expiration, or is just plain discontinued is either donated or trashed based on the specifics of the packaging issues/expiry date. They really hammer in during their training that they donate their products, but it's simply not true. Any product within 30 days of its expiration is thrown away immediately, any product with damaged/open packaging is thrown away immediately, and taking it as an employee is stealing and will lead to you being fired. It must be thrown into the garbage compactor that has a camera pointed at it to ensure you don't take anything, and all the dumpsters are extremely large and locked. This is hundreds of pounds of perfectly safe food being wasted, when it will still be edible for another entire month before just the best by date passes. It would even still be safe to consume after the date in most cases. Instead of donating it to shelters or local charities, it's sent out to landfills and specifically kept from people in need. Only half of the managers at my store even know how to mark something for donation in the system, or where the donation boxes are located. They hate it just as much as I do.
The criteria is strict as well. Was there a shipping label sticker on a can that caused a slight tear in the can's label when removed? 1506. Was the box harmlessly dented on one side from shipping? 1506. Does the box of instant pasta expire in 3 weeks? 1506. It makes me sick, and I'm expected to throw it away without saying anything to anyone or complaining to management.
It extends past food products, too. Anything with an expiration date or that is discontinued typically must be thrown away. There are exceptions (some things get placed on the clearance endcap), but that doesn't change that we're required to tear the covers off of books and throw them away when they're perfectly readable, and throw out deodorant or other cosmetic products just because they're within 3 months of expiration. It just feels like a deliberate effort to avoid extra work by donating, Walgreens would rather save the money and throw everything away rather than run the slight risk of health liability (because they won't just make people buying the 1506ed product sign a release) or extra costs from the donation process.
For the most part, Walgreens is a pretty solid company. Yeah, their pharmacy is still vastly expensive and their products are pricier than other places, but they show value in their employees and customers outside of this issue. But by no means does this even come close to excusing the sheer level of wastefulness. We had to throw away 10 pounds of food in one day recently because it was slightly damaged in shipping, still perfectly safe to consume.
I will try to be active to answer questions and add relevant information. I just hope this can make it out so we start holding this company accountable. It makes me sick to throw all this food into a compactor with a manager over my shoulder.