More than 100 kilograms of food is being dumped per person from households and restaurants in Ireland every year, according to a new report from the United Nations (UN).
The report is being used to track progress towards targets to cut food waste in half by the year 2030.
It found that twice as much food is left uneaten than initially hoped, with 17 per cent of all food produced around the world unconsumed.
In Ireland, 55 kilograms of food is dumped per person from households, while a further 56 kilograms per capita is thrown out from restaurants.
Director of VOICE (Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment), Mindy O'Brien, said the report confirms what is already known.
Food waste, if it were a country, would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter
“Food waste, if it were a country, would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter,” she said.
“So food waste has a big impact on climate through the methane that it releases, so we are throwing away a lot of food... Households are throwing away about a third of the food waste, and then you have retailers and processors along the line as well.”
Ms O’Brien urged households to consider meal plans to avoid purchasing too much food.
Globally, the UN estimates over 930 million tonnes of food waste was generated in 2019.
