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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Our level of food waste is criminal
News this week that patients in hospitals are eating only half of the food prepared for them and 5,600 tonnes are being thrown out annually, is a reflection of what is happening in households throughout the country each and every day.
Given the hospital setting and the health of the patients, it is probably not surprising that between 37-49% of the meals are being left on the plate. But, the excuses are less palatable when it comes to the household. Every household in Ireland is responsible for 117kgs of food waste per year. That’s between €400- 1,000 per household thrown into the bin.
And it’s not just a waste of money, it’s also costing the earth. Food waste sent to landfill does not harmlessly break down but instead releases methane, a greenhouse gas twenty five times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Where possible we should prevent food waste in the first instance. mywaste.ie says that 60% is avoidable food waste such as plate scrapings, leftovers, gone off fruit and veg, and passed its date perishables. We can control this waste easily by serving smaller portion sizes at meals times and by shopping smarter.
20% is potentially avoidable food waste. This waste could be used in another way. 20% is unavoidable food waste – such as banana skins and chicken bones.
But, the good news is that food waste doesn’t have to end up in landfill. It can be recycled by using your food waste recycling bin. Households with a kerbside collection for food waste can simply separate cooked and raw food and leave the bin out as part of your kerbside collection so it can be sent to composting or to an anaerobic digestion plant to make green energy.
Apart from the environmental impact of food waste, there is also the moral aspect, when so many people throughout the world are starving. Trocaire, which had a national collection last weekend, is currently battling a hunger crisis in East Africa - how they would love to secure a portion of our food waste.
Let's think smart; shop smart and cook smart.
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