New research from SuperValu has found that 82% of Irish people are concerned about the level of food waste in their household, yet 94% of homes are still throwing food out.
The research was commissioned as part of SuperValu’s ‘Take Local Action, Make Global Impact’ campaign which aims to showcase the small actions citizens can all take in our homes, stores and towns to make a collective global impact.
Ireland generated 753,000 tonnes of food waste in 2021 according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), of which 29% is from households, amounting to 44kg of food waste per person on an annual basis. Food waste costs the average Irish household about €700 per year and the new SuperValu research found that 80% of those would like to reduce their food waste.
According to the study, spoilage, expiration and overbuying are the three most common reasons for food waste in Irish households. While most people are making a conscious effort to reduce their food waste, only 44% said they do a weekly meal plan, 36% said they portion correctly, and only 32% regularly use leftovers.
Owen Keogh, Head of Sustainability at SuperValu, said: “At SuperValu we have an ambition to reach Net Zero carbon by 2040. Our stores have achieved a reduction of 9% in carbon emissions over the past year … Research shows that people want to make changes but sometimes don’t know where to start and that’s why we’ve launched our Take Local Action, Make Global Impact initiative. Across all our digital channels and in-store we will be encouraging and highlighting ways people can take small local actions that can contribute to a global impact; from recipes to help reduce food waste with recycling tips and highlighting in-store the extensive plant-based options and range of locally-sourced Irish products.”
As part of the campaign SuperValu have identified some local actions that can make a global impact and are on a mission to help customers build some of these actions into their daily routines.
SuperValu Local Actions:
- Cut food waste – meal planners and recipes, hack and tips
- Recycle as much as possible and recycle correctly
- Bring Your Reusable Cup
- Grow Your Own Veg – from the garden to the windowsill
- Shop local & Irish and in season
- One Meat Free Day per Week
- Give 1 hour each week to your local Tidy Towns Group
- Take action by being more inclusive in your local GAA clubs and community
NAM Implications:
- A no-brainer opportunity to save €700/annum!
- i.e. a little more planning could reduce
- household spoilage
- expiration
- overbuying
- The three most common reasons for food waste in Irish households.
- Worth a look for possible UK application?
