What is Food Waste?
Food waste is when good food gets thrown away instead of being eaten.
This can happen when:
- We take more than we can eat
- Food goes bad before it’s used
- Stores or farms throw away food that doesn’t look perfect
Wasting food also wastes all the water, energy, and work it took to grow, make, and deliver that food.
Every household in Ireland is responsible for 117kgs of food waste per year (MyWaste.ie). That is the same weight of approx. 90 pizzas, that’s a lot of food !!
25% of the world’s freshwater supply is used to grow food that is never eaten.
The water used to produce the food wasted could be used by 9 billion people at around 200 litres per person per day.
Good news is that there a lots of ways to reduce our food waste, both in school and at home.
Helpful Resources on Food Waste
Want to find out more about food waste?
Check out our webinar with FoodCloud for lots of important information and tips to reduce your food waste.
Lunch Packaging
Don’t know what to do with all that food packaging that comes on your lunches? Check out this resource to help you put it in the right bin: Lunch Waste – Packaging | Green-Schools
Check out this video from Wexford County Council about the importance of reducing our food waste.
Want to test your Food Waste knowledge? Why not check out our Global Food Issues Quiz to find out more about the global impact of food waste. This quiz is best suited for secondary school students.