--- title: "They’re Dumping $30 Million of Funko Pops Directly Into a Landfill" description: "The company behind Funko Pop! collectibles, vastly over-estimated demand and is dumping $30 million worth of figurines in a landfill, Kotaku reports." date: "2023-03-03" modified: "2023-03-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/dumping-30-million-funko-pops-landfill" categories: - "Environment" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "plastic pollution" - "the digest" - "vinyl" --- # They’re Dumping $30 Million of Funko Pops Directly Into a Landfill ![The company behind Funko Pop! collectibles, vastly over-estimated demand and is dumping $30 million worth of figurines in a landfill, Kotaku reports.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Funko Popped As if having the planet drown in a giant pile of plastic pollution wasn't enough. The company behind Funko Pop collectibles, those small figurines that vaguely represent celebrities and fictional characters and which you likely ignore at your local GameStop, vastly over-estimated demand and is dumping $30 million worth of figurines in a landfill, [*Kotaku* reports](). Funko had a disastrous earnings call earlier this week, causing its stock price to crater on Thursday, dropping by a [stunning 25 percent]() in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The company announced that it was sitting on a massive pile of unsold inventory, which increased 48 percent year over year. "This includes inventory that the Company intends to eliminate in the first half of 2023 to reduce fulfillment costs by managing inventory levels to align with the operating capacity of our distribution center," a [press release]() reads. "This is expected to result in a write down in the first half of 2023 of approximately $30 to $36 million." In other words, considering each Funko Pop figurine averages around $8 to $11, they're dumping millions of figurines into the garbage. ## PVC Pollution The company was already facing financial turmoil last year, with its distribution center in Arizona [overflowing with inventory]() to the point it had to rent shipping containers to store them all. By November, the venture's stock had already cratered after it slashed its financial outlook for the rest of the year, *Kotaku* reports. While some Funko Pop models have propped up a considerable speculators' market — two recent golden figurines [sold for $100,000 in cash]() — the reality is that their value is unlikely to last forever, damning them to slowly decompose in landfills. The figurines are [made of polyvinyl chloride](), better known as PVC, a petroleum-derived chemical that's made using vinyl chloride — a substance that may sound familiar, because it was [all over the news]() last month following the disastrous [train derailment]() in East Palestine, Ohio, which released copious amounts of the stuff into the surrounding environment and waterways. **READ MORE:** [Over $30 Million Worth Of Funkos Are Headed To The Landfill]() \[*Kotaku*\] **More on plastic pollution:** *[Chevron's Jet Fuel Made From Plastic Very Likely to Cause Cancer, EPA Documents Say]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()