In 2020, you might remember something called the ‘Shopping Trolley Theory’ going viral.
Basically, it was meant to determine whether you were a good person or not based on whether you would return a shopping cart to the bay if nobody were watching.
The bold theory sent shoppers around the world into a frenzy as they shared what they would do in this situation, which was later described as the “ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing.”
Now, five years later, it appears there’s a new supermarket-based litmus test, and it will determine whether or not you’re an upstanding citizen or a “self-important, lazy d**k,” as one Redditor eloquently put it.
A post in the Aldi Fans Facebook group kicked off the discussion, showing a photo of a packet of steak dumped on top of some furniture in the middle aisle of the store.
“How lazy can you get?” the poster asked. “There are usually only four aisles with halfway crossover!”
Commenters quickly echoed this sentiment, with one person saying, “Selfish. It only takes a minute to put back where they got it from. It’s called respect.”
“Wasting food like this is the worst,” wrote another. “Unbelievable.”
“They just think someone else will take care of it,” added a third. “Or they think it’s funny,” quipped someone else.
Others said they’ve noticed it happening more and more recently.
“See it all the time, sadly,” replied one group member. Another commenter also claimed it “happens in most stores.”
“I don’t know how often I’ve found perishable food left in random places, people forgetting how quickly it will spoil if not kept cold or frozen,” replied one.
Others suggested that if you’re in a rush, you should simply give it to the checkout staff who will handle it.
“Or at least put it in the drinks fridge at the front!” urged someone else.
“We have to chuck it if it’s room temperature or thawed,” claimed one supermarket worker.
This incident in Aldi is clearly not an isolated one.
On Reddit, users have been sharing similar stories about abandoned items they’ve spotted.
In the Mildly Infuriating subreddit, tales included frozen dinners left in the pet aisle, laundry detergent tossed in the snack aisle, and a rotisserie chicken found next to body wash.
Someone even said they once saw a frozen solid carton of milk sitting in the freezer.
Meanwhile, a supermarket employee shared a photo of four carts full of items they had found at the end of their shift that had been incorrectly left around the store.
So, is this sort of behavior ever okay?
From a food waste perspective, absolutely not.
Each year, 1.3 billion of perfectly edible food is wasted around the world at every part of the supply chain.
17 percent or 931 million tonnes of that is wasted in retail and by consumers. In Australia, that number is a staggering 40 percent.
Given the scale of the problem, why not do your bit, even if it feels effortful, and put your food back where you found it?
On top of this – it’s just the height of bad etiquette and makes supermarket workers’ lives harder.
So, do you return your misplaced items to their rightful spots?
Or do you just sneakily place it somewhere and hope nobody notices?
