In Ireland over one million tonnes of food waste is disposed of each year
Roughly one-third of the food produced globally is either lost or wasted every year. In Ireland, over one million tonnes of food waste is disposed of each year and around one-third of this waste comes from households.
Compass Group Ireland, a leader in food service, is today marking Stop Food Waste Day, an international day of action in the fight against food waste, in partnership with 99 sites across Ireland including Intel, Maynooth University and Vodafone.
Launched by Compass Group USA in 2017, Stop Food Waste Day is an annual event to raise awareness of the issue of food waste and encourage the industry, from farm to fork, to reduce the amount of food thrown away. Compass Group Ireland is working with its suppliers, employees and customers to deliver meaningful solutions to address this global problem.
With one-third of Irish food waste coming from households, this means that each person is throwing out about 80kg of food waste and costing Irish householders €700 each year.
The most common foods thrown away in Ireland are:
- 50% of salads
- 25% of fruit and vegetables - potatoes are the most wasted vegetable and bananas and apples are the most wasted fruit
- 20% of bread and bakery goods
- 10% of meat and fish
Compass Group Ireland has committed to reducing its food waste by 20% by 2025.