What Costco Does With Its Leftover Rotisserie Chickens

The always-cheap rotisserie chickens from Costco have become a viral sensation thanks to their wide range of uses and delicious, savory taste. Priced at just $4.99, the bulk-buy chain sells millions annually. But that doesn't guarantee that they'll all end up sold. Fortunately, they don't get tossed in the trash. According to a 2023 report from Costco, leftover rotisserie chickens are often given a second life in its famous deli.

For the hygiene skeptics out there, have no fear. The rotisserie chickens used in the deli aren't old or past their prime. Instead, they're given a strict two-hour shelf life to sit in the hot display for customers to buy. If they're not sold within this timeframe, they are removed and repurposed in the deli, where items are made in-house on the same day. So Costco's health and safety policy is by no means lax (it even refuses to resell unopened, returned food products).

Costco says the chicken is used in a wide range of deli items, including pot pies in the U.S. and enchiladas in the U.K. On Reddit, one Costco employee shared: "The leftover rotisserie chickens get harvested and used in some of the food such as chicken Alfredo or soup. The wings and ribs get repackaged and sold cold in the deli section." Another Redditor revealed that in some Costco locations, even the carcasses don't go to waste, "There's a barrel in the back fridge between the rotisserie chicken room and meat department ... [colloquially] called the Bone Barrel. Bones and 'gristle' are donated for credit to be processed as gelatin or other 'downstream' bone meal products." Costco itself has also shared that even the leftover chicken grease is converted into biofuel.

For huge retail chains, food waste can be a major challenge. Surplus inventory frequently ends up in landfills, where its decomposition produces harmful greenhouse gases. Fortunately, Costco has taken meaningful steps to reduce its environmental footprint, whilst simultaneously aiding social causes.

For starters, it's not only the rotisserie chicken that's repurposed in the deli section. Ground beef is also frequently reused in items like stuffed peppers. But when food cannot be reused, Costco has an excellent donation system in place. In 2025 alone, Costco says it donated over 140 million pounds of unsold, edible produce and other goods to Feeding America — a network of food banks. For products that are not fit for human consumption, the company utilizes creative solutions to divert its waste, such as donating produce to zoos and animal warehouses.

One Reddit user pulled back the curtain on how Costco handles unsold deli and food court inventory at their warehouse. According to the post, these items are removed from their packaging and fed into a specialized machine nicknamed "The Harvester" that pulverizes the waste. Though the user wasn't certain of the internal workings, they noted the system was purportedly designed "to make compost/fertilizer." This comment tracks with Costco's own statements about diverting food waste from landfills. Alongside turning food into fertilizers and compost, it has also revealed that it's sometimes used as a source of renewable energy.