Campaign to encourage more recycling of our food waste

Tipp council supports Food Waste Recycling Week

National Food Waste Recycling Week awareness campaign runs from June 5-11 and is being supported by Tipperary County Council. This campaign, managed by MyWaste.ie will provide practical advice, with easy to follow hints and tips to encourage everyone to recycle more of their food waste. This year, the aim is to ensure that people understand that food waste needs to be fully separated from all packaging such as plastic or other containers to prevent contamination at the compost and anaerobic digestion facilities leading to higher quality recycling.

Tipperary County Council will be hosting a number of events where attendees will receive a food waste caddy, each with a starter pack of caddy liners as well as free compost for their gardens (pending availability) together with an information leaflet on how to recycle food waste at home.

The Tipp event is:

Wednesday, June 7 – Supervalu in Thurles in association with the TGBN are hosting a Food Waste briefing for businesses on how to reduce food waste and related business costs.

In Ireland, we waste about 800,000 tonnes of food each year, according to current best estimates. Growing, processing and transporting food uses a huge amount of resources, such as land, water, energy and fertiliser. If food is wasted, these resources are wasted too. The EPA estimates that food waste costs the average Irish household about €60 per month or €700 per year. That’s an annual national cost of €1.29 billion.

The overall aim of the campaign is to generate awareness of the role of food waste recycling in diverting this valuable resource from landfill and allowing it to be transformed into renewable energy and fertilisers for horticulture and agriculture use in Ireland. This will have a lasting impact as it will create green jobs here now and into the future. The campaign is being managed by Ireland’s three regional waste management planning offices and funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Properly recycled food waste can be used to produce energy through anaerobic digestion and to produce clean, organic fertiliser.

Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, eGovernment and the Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, said: “Did you know that you can save money and cut carbon at the same time, just by sorting your food waste? During this year’s National Food Waste Recycling Week, we’re going to show businesses and households how to easily cut food waste. It’s more money in your pocket but it’s also a source of clean energy and climate-friendly fertiliser.”

Pauline McDonogh, Circular Economy Co-ordinator, Southern Waste Region, added: “From January 1, 2024, under new national legislation to be introduced later this year all waste management companies will be obliged to provide food waste recycling bins for compostable material, which will radically improve Ireland’s management of food waste. This campaign is focused on continuing to educate people on what can be put into their food waste recycling bin.”

Food waste briefing

for businesses

Are you a food business? Do you want to reduce your food waste and related business costs? To mark National Food Waste Recycling which runs from June 5-11 join the Tipperary Green Business network in association with Tipperary County Council for a Food Waste Briefing for Food Businesses in the Anner Hotel Thurles on Wednesday, June 7, from 4-6pm. By reducing your food waste, not only are you helping the environment but you will also save your business money in associated business costs.

FURTHER DETAILS

For more information on the National Food Waste Recycling Week 2023 and to check local events, see www.mywaste.ie/national-food-waste-recycling-week/