The EPA estimates that Ireland generated 753,000 tonnes (t) of food waste in 2021.
Growing, processing and transporting food uses a huge amount of resources, such as land, water, energy and fertiliser. If food is wasted, these resources are wasted too. The EPA estimates that food waste costs the average Irish household about €60 per month or €700 per year. That’s an annual national cost of €1.29 billion.
In order to help households to separate their waste and to reduce contamination in the food waste stream Donegal household waste collectors will be taking part in the National Food Waste Recycling Project this year.
This project is funded by the Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) and is being led by the Regional Waste Management Planning Authorities** under the guise of mywaste.ie.
Through the project Donegal collectors will be provided with thousands of kitchen caddy packs to distribute to their customers.
Each pack consists of a 7 litre kitchen caddy, a starter pack of compostable liners and an information leaflet. Householders can use the caddy and liners to separate their food waste in the kitchen and when the liner is full, place it in their kerbside food waste bin.
In addition to the caddy packs there are a range of toolkit supports available for the collectors to use at https://www.mywaste.ie/food-waste-campaign-toolkit/
The toolkit includes:
