Stop Food Waste

Stop Food Waste is the national campaign from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with information and tips on how to make the most of your food and avoid food waste.

Reducing food waste is an easy action you can take to save money, time and lessen your impact on the environment.

Why try to Stop Food Waste?

Growing, processing and transporting food all use significant amounts of resources (land, water, energy). When food is wasted, all the resources used in bringing food to our tables are wasted too. In this way, food waste is a significant contributor to climate change generating around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

And food waste is a deeply unethical and global problem, with so much food is thrown away while so many people can’t afford to eat. Across the world, than one-quarter of food produced is wasted each year.

In Ireland, the average household throws out 150kg of food each year and with a significant amount of this food is still suitable for human consumption. And it is a waste of money, as the average Irish household could save around €700 a year by avoiding food waste.

Reducing your food waste is a key action you can take to help the environment and save money too.

How to Stop Food Waste?

Stop Food Waste When Shopping

Meal plan to help you know what you have, when it needs to be used by and what you need to restock. Meal planning also includes plotting out your recipes and meal matching by including recipes with similar ingredients you can plan to use up fresh produce.
Make a shopping list to help you take stock of what you already have. You can also take a 'shelfie' photo of your shelves so you’ll know what you don’t need or keep a running tally of what runs out day-to-day using a kitchen notepad or chalkboard, or a note in your phone!
Shop smart by know what you’ll use and what you’re likely to waste and understanding that supermarkets are designed to make us buy products we may not need.

Stop Food Waste with Correct Food Storage

Different foods need different environments to stay as fresh as possible for as long as possible. The EPA's A-Z Food Guide breaks down the best storage solutions for each type of food
Check food regularly for their 'use-by' or 'best before' dates. Keep in mind that the use-by date means you can eat or freeze food up until this date, after that it could make you unwell. The best before date is a guideline to indicate food quality so food is still safe to eat after this date. Also, scan fruit and veg regularly for anything that’s starting to spoil and remove it as any gases from rotten produce can hasten the decline of other items.
Make your fridge and freezer work for you by knowing your fridge zones, knowing what can be frozen (hint: it's more than you think!) and use clear and labeled and dated Tupperware and freezer bags to keep trace of what you have.
Preserve foods by drying, canning or freezing to extends its lifespan by either killing or slowing down the activity of bacteria which need oxygen and moisture to grow.

Stop Food Waste through Cooking

Make the most of what you have by basing recipes on ingredients you already have
Add an extra one of your 7-a-day to help prevent the fruit and vegetable waste
Measure out what you’ll need and if you’re happy to eat leftovers for lunch the next day, making an extra portion at dinner can save time, energy and food waste
Serving food in bowls or platters and allowing everyone to help themselves can be a useful way to stop food waste as we’re more likely to box up leftovers from serving dishes than from individual plates

Further Information

Find out more on StopFoodWaste.ie.