A lot of food gets discarded by the industry itself, all the way from farmer to customer. Myself, I still have stuff in the fridge I haven’t touched in 6 months :)
My sensible hippie brother never throws any veggies parts unless they are bad. He boils it and makes stock for miso or soups. Man he can cook with very little waste and the food is outstanding.
You sure you were not looking into my fridge?