A ban on binning edible food in advance of its use-by date will be considered as part of a plan to reduce Ireland’s food waste by half by 2030.
Donations of used food to food banks and other charities could also be made mandatory for shops under the plan.
All homes with an organic or ‘brown bin’ collection are to get kitchen caddies to ensure separation of their scraps and waste food, and organic waste bins will be mandatory as part of all waste collections.
Other measures to be examined include revising ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ advice on food items to prevent foods being needlessly deemed inedible.
The measures are aimed at dramatically reducing the 770,000 tonnes of food waste generated in Ireland each year.
Worldwide, it is estimated that a quarter of all food produced goes uneaten.
The waste in terms of the financial cost is huge, and the injustice that sees good food go to waste while millions of people go hungry is indefensible.
But the production, transport and disposal of waste food is also estimated to be responsible for 8-10pc of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Minister for the Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, said this had to change.
“Food waste happens at every stage of the food chain. It doesn’t make sense and it’s something we have to tackle,” he said.
“Everyone along the food chain, from producers to consumers, can play a role in preventing food waste in the first place and then dealing with excess food that might occur in a more sustainable way than just throwing it away as the first and only option.”
Mr Smyth has published a National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap that details 38 priority actions to be taken by 2025.
While some shops and other food outlets voluntarily donate excess stock and food items coming close to their use-by date to food banks and charities, the roadmap wants to make this practice the norm.
It says barriers to ‘Good Samaritan’ acts need to be examined, and consideration must be given to making donations mandatory.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 770,316 tonnes of food waste was generated in Ireland in 2020.
Householders were the biggest source, accounting for 31pc of the total that year, followed by the food and drink manufacturing sector, which accounted for 29pc.
The remainder came from restaurants and food service (23pc), agriculture (9pc), and retail and other distribution of food (8pc).
While preventing waste is the main aim, the roadmap also aims to tighten up on the disposal of waste food, ensuring where possible it is used for animal feed, composting or anaerobic digestion.
“Food waste is a huge global problem that has environmental, social and economic consequences,” the roadmap says.
“Substantial resources are needed for the growing, processing, transportation and storage of food.
“Food waste has a significant impact on the production of carbon emissions so cutting down on it can help to meet Ireland’s overall emissions targets.”
(Source – Irish Independent – Environment – Caroline O Doherty – 30/11/2022)