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The story
A thread titled “Mister Donut throws away every single unsold donut” drew a flood of responses on 5ch’s Newsokuvip (News Speed VIP) board. As the discussion unfolded, it emerged that donuts left over after closing are actually sent to feed-processing plants and recycled into livestock feed, casting doubt on the thread’s original premise. The debate also turned to half-price clearance sales, with some arguing that discounting draws in bargain hunters and breeds resentment — and reduced spending — among customers who pay full price, making the difficulty of tackling food waste the central point of discussion.
What people said
Me, I work at Lawson —
"we mark ours half price."
That's kind of right in a way, which is what makes it tricky.
but the storage area where the waste probably ended up was always locked tight — no luck there.
Convenience stores, though, if you hit five of them, usually one has an unlocked bin, so I actually managed to gain weight while homeless off all those calories.
for Japanese people, donuts are basically a luxury item now.
Mister Donut part-time jobs sound popular.
they get turned into livestock feed and used in various other ways.
So we're basically buying pig feed, huh.
They should only do it once a month, when there's likely to be a huge surplus.
If they cut back on quantity, they lose sales opportunities and can't turn a profit in the first place — honestly, that's just an impossible ask for any restaurant chain to begin with.
I used to live it up at the Mister Donut and McDonald's dumpsters late at night…
in winter, the food doesn't spoil at all.
"Donuts left over after closing are transported to a feed-processing plant and recycled as animal feed."
If you're curious, at least go check the official website.
They're not even throwing it away — why'd you lie?
the people who buy at full price start complaining, like "this is ridiculous."
And that makes those full-price customers start holding off on buying too.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Food waste has long been a challenge for Japan’s retail and food-service industries, and how leftovers are handled varies from store to store and company to company, even among convenience stores and fast-food chains. Mister Donut’s system of sending unsold items to feed-processing companies isn’t necessarily publicized in stores or on social media, which makes it easy for consumers to simply assume the food is “being thrown away.” The thread was also split over the merits of half-price clearance sales. One view held that discounting draws in customers chasing the markdown and breeds resentment — and reduced spending — among regular customers who pay full price, while the opposing view held that food waste should be reduced regardless. Both sides raised realistic points grounded in the profit structures of restaurant chains. It’s also worth noting that recycling measures like feed-processing differ by company and by store, so this information may not apply to every single Mister Donut location.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Newsokuvip) thread “Mister Donut throws away all its unsold donuts.”
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