Irish families among the best in the EU at avoiding food waste

Irish households produce the third lowest level of domestic food waste compared to other EU citizens, bettered only by people in Slovenia and Bulgaria. Picture: iStock

Irish people are the sixth biggest wasters of food among EU citizens, with an average of 145kg of food waste per person each year.

New figures published by the European Commission show food wastage levels in Ireland on a per capita basis are 10% above the EU average of 132kg per inhabitant.

However, food businesses rather than householders are mostly responsible for the scale of the problem.

Irish household wastage is falling

Overall, the EU generates 59.2m tonnes of food waste, including edible and inedible parts, with almost 750,000 tonnes accounted for by Ireland.

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The latest figures show the annual amount of food waste among Irish people has been falling in recent years — down from an average of 154kg per head of population in 2020 to 145kg.

They also reveal that ordinary householders in Ireland are relatively good at limiting the amount of food they waste compared to most other EU citizens.

Food businesses  

Instead, they show that the level of food waste generated by manufacturers of food products in Ireland, as well as restaurants and other food outlets, is disproportionately high compared to their counterparts in other EU member states.

The figures highlight how the average householder in Ireland generates an average of just 43kg of food waste — the third lowest level after Slovenia and Bulgaria with the EU average at 72kg per person.

Ordinary members of the public in Ireland account for just 30% of all food waste generated in the country compared to the EU average of 55%.

Manufacturing

Unlike most other EU countries where householders are responsible for the largest share of food waste, the latest figures show food manufacturers in Ireland account for the biggest share of the problem at 31% — representing an average of 45kg of food waste per person.

The rate of food waste by food companies in Ireland is the fifth highest in the EU.

Restaurants

Restaurants and other food outlets in Ireland account for 21% of all food waste in the country, generating an annual average of 30kg per inhabitant.

It is the third highest rate for restaurants among the 27 EU member states after Malta and Cyprus but is down from 38kg per capita in 2021.

On average, restaurants are responsible for just 11% of all food waste in the EU, or an average of 15kg per inhabitant.

The figures were released to coincide with International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.

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The European Commission pointed out that household food waste is slightly more than twice the amount of food waste generated by the combined sectors of primary production and manufacturers of food products and beverages where strategies exist for reducing food waste.

Officials in Brussels claimed the impact of the end of the covid-19 lockdowns on the contribution of restaurants and food outlets as well as retailers to food waste, at 11% and 8% respectively of the EU average, was still being analysed.