Galway City and County Councils are both supporting the annual National Food Waste Recycling Week to help people with their green thumb.
The two councils are holding a special event this Tuesday, June 6 to give people in Galway material and informational help to reduce their food waste.
The event will take place on Shop Street in Galway city centre from 11am to 4pm.
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.
Another event will be held at Ballinasloe Library on Friday, June 9 from 11am to 3pm, with information packs and caddys to be distributed.
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 year’s campaign aims 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.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said, “This National Food Waste Recycling Week my message to everyone is straightforward. We all have a role to play in reducing food waste.”
“It benefits our local environment, can help us reach our climate targets, helps us show our farmers, fishers and food producers that we value their products and of course it can help us save money on our grocery bills.”
“Working together with colleagues in government we are committed to our global climate targets and protecting our local environment.”
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.
Minister McConalogue said, “There is a wealth of information on how every household can reduce their food waste at MyWaste.ie and I encourage everyone to consider trying out some of their practical ideas that can help you to play your part.”
