EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Food Waste Ireland generates over 1 million tonnes of food waste annually. Ireland generates approximately 1.05 million tonnes of food waste annually, 7 53 per cent of which is generated by commercial and household sectors and 47 per cent generated by the manufacturing sector (Figure 9.6) (EPA, 2020a). An Irish household throws out on average 150 kg of food waste each year at a cost of €700, and food waste is estimated to cost Irish businesses over €2 billion each year (EPA, 2019a). Figure 9.6  Estimated food waste (in tonnes) generated in Ireland, 2018 (Source: EPA) Manufacturing Households Restaurants and food services Retail and distribution 497,500 252,500 203,300 100,400 Preventing food waste (avoiding its generation) is the highest priority, but where there is unavoidable food waste (such as peelings or bones) it needs to be segregated for separate collection for recycling. A significant amount of household and commercial food waste is not being segregated for separate collection. Over 60 per cent of household organic waste is deposited in the residual or recycling bin and one-third of the commercial residual bin consists of organic waste that could be segregated for recycling (EPA, 2018b). A survey on brown bin use in the commercial sector found that over 30 per cent of businesses surveyed did not use a food waste bin, despite biowaste regulations requiring such segregation since 2009 (Cré, 2019). In 2018, only 43 per cent of households had a brown bin (EPA, 2020a) but new national waste policy provides for the mandatory provision of an organic waste bin as part of the household waste collection service. Separate collection of biowaste will be mandatory from the end of 2023 under circular economy legislation, not just from households but also from offices, restaurants, retailers and comparable waste from food processing plants. 7 Excluding food waste from primary production (agriculture) for which no data are currently available. Producer Responsibility Initiatives Six waste streams are the subject of producer responsibility initiatives. Producer responsibility initiatives (PRIs) are based on the producer pays principle, where producers have a responsibility to finance the collection and environmentally sound management of their products when they become waste. 8 All PRI statutory targets are currently being achieved (Table 9.1). Ireland has committed to halving food waste by 2030, in line with its EU and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) commitments, and it will be required to report on food waste generated at each stage of the food supply chain for the reference year (2020) and onwards. 8 For more information on progress to targets, see https://www.epa.ie/nationalwastestatistics/ 230