Have you ever wondered what happens to all the fresh produce that doesn’t get sold in local grocery stores? Well, some of it is being composted!

Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Cedar Rapids, IA have teamed up with the Linn County Solid Waste Agency to schedule a weekly delivery of unsold fruits and vegetables to a local compost operation. The purpose is to reduce the amount of food products being dumped in local landfills.

Besides the environmental benefits, composting old produce also has financial value. It was costing Walmart $38 per ton to send produce to the landfill. Now, it only costs $18 to send produce in for composting.

Besides expired and damaged produce from Walmart and Sam’s stores, the agency also collects food waste from other local stores, restaurants and cafeterias.

Do you know what your local grocer does with unsold produce?

Information from The Cedar Rapids Gazette

Image from Flickr