Over 1.1m tonnes of food waste was generated in Ireland in 2019 with almost half of this (45%) coming from the food processing and manufacturing sector, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

CSO analysis shows that the processing sector, which includes dairy and meat processors, accounted for 497t of food waste in the overall volume.

Food retailers and distributors wasted 111t tonnes of food in 2019 while households wasted 255t.

Meanwhile, the restaurant and food service sector wasted 237t of food in the year analysed, according to the CSO figures.

Farm waste not included

Overall, the food waste analysis and the 1.1m tonnes excludes that arising at the primary production or farm stage as that data is not currently available, says the CSO.

Commenting on its analysis, the CSO said that the average Irish household throws out 150kg of food waste each year, at a cost of approximately €700.

It conceded there is “considerable uncertainty” over food waste amounts in the processing and manufacturing sector, which could be as high as 500,000t, but this is likely to be an overestimate due to non-food waste being included in some waste categories.

The CSO noted that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will undertake further analysis of the food waste at primary production and processing during 2022. This will involve the EPA undertaking additional studies and working with sectors along the supply chain to improve data and further refine these estimates over time.

“At present little is known about the nature or extent of food waste in the primary production sector in Ireland and further work is needed to identify potential data sources and generate knowledge of the situation on a national level,” the CSO said.

Climate impact

The CSO says that from a climate perspective, food loss and waste is a “major issue”, contributing 8-10% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

There is a significant amount of food waste not being segregated for separate collection, with over 406,000t of food waste in residual and recycling bins, according to the national office.

However, it says that food waste management has improved with an increase in segregated waste collections but this is from a low base.

The European Union (EU) aims to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 under the Waste Framework Directive 2018.

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€180,000 for food waste reduction projects