EPA launches new national food waste prevention scheme
January 24th, 2018
The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new campaign calling on the Irish public to enjoy their food without the waste.
The campaign – Food: Make the Most of It – is part of Stop Food Waste awareness week and aims to highlight the growing problem and how consumers can make savings through reducing their food waste.
According to the EPA, Irish householders throw out on average €700 worth of food annually, adding to the estimated one million tons of waste piling up across Ireland every year.
One in eight people in Ireland experiences food poverty according to FoodCloud, while over one billion tonnes of food is wasted globally every year.
Ireland has committed itself to achieving a 50 per cent reduction in food waste by 2030 under the Food Waste Charter for Ireland which was introduced in March 2017.
The Charter aims to encourage businesses and communities to put in place at least one food waste prevention activity within the first year of signing up to the Charter and to take further action by 2020.
Fresh Food In Garbage Can To Illustrate Waste Photo: USDA
Stop Food Waste Programme
The EPA’s Stop Food Waste Programme helps identify everyday food items that usually go to waste, developing an A to Z guide of how to best prevent food waste.
This guide provides a vast amount of information about buying, storing, freezing, cooking and using up foods, from fruits and vegetables to meat and dairy.
“Our campaign this week includes providing practical tips to make the most of our food,” said the EPA’s Stop Food Waste Manager, Odile Le Bolloch. “Reducing food waste offers simple and no cost actions that anyone can take.”
The EPA’s project also offers support and guidance in the best prevention strategies for businesses, which, the agency says can save businesses up to €60 each month.
“Stop Food Waste has been raising awareness, engaging communities and small businesses and building capacity for food waste prevention around the country”, according to the EPA’s Director, Laura Burke.
The Minister for the Environment, Denis Naughten T.D. expressed his support for the programme and the role that awareness raising can plan in educating the public to reduce their waste.
“Raising awareness about the common foods that people throw away and the good habits people can adopt to reduce food waste in their homes is important,” he said.
The Minister also urged people to make the most of their food and benefit from a cost reduction in their weekly shopping bills by preventing food waste.
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