Irish households waste on average €700 per year due to food waste according to a survey conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The survey found that bread is the most wasted food item in Ireland, with 41 per cent of Irish respondents saying it is the food they throw of the most.
Data from the EPA also shows that Irish households produce over 250,000 tonnes of food waste per year.
The main reason people gave for not consuming food was that it has passed its use-by date or that they had forgotten to use leftovers in time.
Other frequently thrown out food items included vegetables, fruit and salad, but 29 per cent of respondents said they had thrown out less food during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mary Frances Rochford, Programme Manager in the Office of Environmental Sustainability said: "Food waste is a significant contributor to climate change - generating about 8 to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
"Reducing food waste reduces our greenhouse gas emissions and also reduces bills for householders and businesses.
"Ambitious targets have been set in the new National Waste Policy, for food waste reduction, with the aim of halving food waste by 2030- meeting these targets will require a strong response from every step along the food chain.”
According to the survey, three out of four people make a list before going food shopping and nine in 10 agreeing that consumers have a role to play in preventing food wastage.
