Leftover and out.. as 90% binning their waste food

...and we’re throwing away €700 a year

- SEAN MURPHY

CLOSE to 80% of households claim to be concerned about food waste – but over 90 per cent admit to still binning their groceries, according to new research. 

Public consciousness about the worldwide problem of food waste and its environmental, social, and economic consequences has been raised due to information campaigns by bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

But stats show that a quarter of the food produced globally is wasted and then contributes 10 per cent to greenhouse gas emissions.

Households nationwide have now revealed in a new supermarket survey to be still binning tonnes of fruit like bananas, apples, and strawberries, plus vegetables like lettuce, carrots, and potatoes.

Campaigners want this to improve because new EU waste legislation means that the separate collection of biowaste will be mandatory within months.

The Government has committed to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This helps to explain why 80 per cent of households in Ireland are “concerned about their level of food waste”, according to SuperValu.