Bulk Purchasing: A Wasteful Endeavor

  

Buying in bulk is very alluring. You feel like you’re buying more for less.

 

If only the expiration date didn’t exist. A lot of bulk purchases of items with expiration date (which mostly are) end up wasted because they’ll expire before you’re able to use them, making it not only wasteful of resources - but also of money. Many experts believe that buying in bulk is more expensive.

 

There is a perfect solution between individual packets and bulk purchases, where you can save money while avoiding waste: buying in packs. Below is a helpful deep dive into why buying packs could offer a much-needed boost to your waste-prevention game.

 

 

How Bulk Purchases Waste Food, Money, and Time

 

A recent study performed at the University of Arizona explains that “upward of 30 percent of food grown in the U.S. ultimately ends up in landfills,” which is approximately $1,300 to $2,300 per family per year. According to this same study, bulk purchasing is a contributing factor to these startling levels of resource wastes, and here’s how:

 

• For fear of shortage, people buy more to ensure they always have something at home ready
• Bulk purchasing stores such as Costco, Sam create membership program to “force” people into thinking “I should buy more to save because I paid member fee”
• The overall food waste from bulk purchases vastly outweighs money saved in bulk.
• The money wasted food is compounded by the extra money spent on transportation.
• If you consider time as resource, then extra time is wasted through unwanted visits to the stores

 

The Right Amount at the Right Price: “Buy Packs. Save Stacks”:

 

Here’s how buying a pack online will save you money, and time:

• You won’t over purchase, meaning less money going towards wasted products.
• You won’t under purchase. You’ll still have enough products to last you a long time, all without spoiling.
• You won’t be wasting gas or time on costly trips to the grocery store because buying packs online has delivery services, in most cases, free.

 

The future of waste prevention is in pack purchases, the perfect middle ground between single product and bulk purchases!

 

Sources

 UA Food Study: Shop More, Waste Less. (2015, May 29). From The University of Arizona:

https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/ua-food-study-shop-more-waste-less

 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Bulk Buying. (2017, November 7). From Smart Asset:

https://smartasset.com/personal-finance/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-bulk-buying

When Buying in Bulk Is More Expensive. (2018, July 13). From Cash Money Life Financial Freedom: https://cashmoneylife.com/when-buying-in-bulk-is-more-expensive/