Over one Million tonnes of food waste generated in Ireland annually

Shockingly we will throw out millions of euros worth of food every year. Ireland generates more than one million tonnes of food waste every year which represents a carbon footprint as high as 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

It is estimated that food waste generates about 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is worth considering food waste contributes significantly to climate change as growing, processing, packaging and transporting food uses energy and resources and then when we throw it away, as it rots it releases yet more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

Gary Brady, Environmental Awareness Officer, Longford County Council says “Food waste hits all of us in the pocket, with the average family throwing out between €700 and €1,000 worth of food every year. Over 1 tonne of food is wasted by every household in Ireland annually”.

He continued “There’s no one solution to this problem. There’s going to have to be a major rethink at all phases of the food chain, throwing away uneaten food is an unnecessary waste of money especially in these straitened times”.

For some very helpful tips on cooking with leftovers, prolonging the shelf life of your food and tips to help you save money when shopping visit www.longfordcoco.ie/environment/environmentalawareness/stopfoodwaste

Or visit stopfoodwaste.ie

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