The economy claims to be efficient, but grocers intentionally throw away expired food instead of giving it away for free because it would drive prices down. Dairy producers pour milk down the drain when the price gets too low, because bottling all the extra milk when there isn't enough demand would drive the prices down. There is a pile of discarded clothing in the Chilean desert big enough to be seen from space. The clothes are discarded because giving them away for free would drive prices down.