Eggs Don’t Spoil — We Just Forget Them

Why egg waste is so common, and what we can do about it

Every year, over 700 million eggs are wasted in the United States alone — that’s roughly $25 billion cracked and thrown away.
And it’s not restaurants or grocery chains that are to blame.
It happens quietly, in everyday homes, in everyday fridges.

We don’t throw away eggs because they’re bad — we throw them away because we’re unsure

According to a 2020 study, the average American household wastes 31.9% of the eggs they buy. With current egg prices around $6.22 per dozen (as of March 2025) and average household consumption at about 24 eggs per week, that’s nearly:

• $2.49 to $6.22 wasted every single week,

• Just on eggs — just because they weren’t used in time.

And why does this happen?

• Because we buy too many and forget what we have.

• Because the new carton hides the old one.

• Because we confuse “best before” with “unsafe.”

• Because cold air escapes every time the fridge opens, slowly degrading the yolks — especially when eggs are stored loosely and not rotated.

In fact, 29% of people throw eggs away simply based on the date, not signs of spoilage. And over 40% of waste stems from improper storage and mismanagement — often unintentionally.

The deeper problem? It feels normal.

As Professor Brian Roe of Ohio State University explains, higher-income households often waste more — not because they don’t care, but because they have the means to “overstock” and less incentive to monitor what’s sitting behind the milk carton.

Lower-income households tend to manage waste better, sometimes hesitating to buy fresh eggs at all, fearing they'll go unused. It’s a socio-economic loop that even affects how we eat, and how we think about food.

Eggs are cheap. But that’s the trap.
Because what’s cheap is easy to ignore — until it becomes a habit.

What we believe at 29usd.com

We’re not in the egg business.
We’re in the “treat-your-food-like-it-matters” business.

That’s why we designed the AutoRoll Egg Rack — a simple tool that does what your fridge can’t:
gently roll older eggs to the front so they get used first.
No guessing. No waste. Just small help in the right place.

It won’t change the world. But it might change your habits.
And habits shape homes.

Small reminders make big impact

If every household reduced their egg waste by just 10%,
the collective savings could feed thousands.
But more than that — we’d be teaching something valuable:
That food is not disposable, just because it’s quiet.

And neither are the choices we make around it.

— Linh, Founder of 29usd.com