Irish households waste almost €3 million on food a day: EPA

Households are being urged to be extra vigilant food waste this Christmas

Households urged to act to reduce food waste this Christmas

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Read More: Christmas EPA Too Good To Go

Irish households throw away an estimated €3 million a day, which collectively equates to €1.2 billion in food waste, new research shows.

Research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that the average Irish household wastes an estimated €700 of salvageable food annually.

When this is multiplied by the 1,846,938 occupied households recorded in the state in the most recent Census, it works out at an estimated €1,292,856,600 in potentially wasted food over a 12-month period.

Christmas dinner: The peak of the problem

​​​Bread is the most commonly wasted item according to the EPA research, with 48% of people admitting it’s the food they waste most often, followed closely by fruit and vegetables (42%).

These are food items that can easily be saved from the bin by being turned into breadcrumbs for Christmas stuffing, hearty vegetable soups and festive fruit cakes, crumbles and apple tarts.

The research also pinpoints the specific “danger time” for waste, with a massive 79% of people reporting that dinner is the meal where the most food goes to waste.

Christmas dinner waste

With the biggest dinner of the year approaching, households are being urged to be extra vigilant with their portions and food waste this Christmas.

“At Christmas, when food is at the heart of so many of our celebrations, it’s more important than ever to make it go further,” said Machaela O’Leary, sales manager, Too Good To Go Ireland.

“We know people across Ireland are feeling the pinch with the cost of living, so the idea that households could be throwing away up to €700 worth of food every year is truly shocking.

With bread and vegetables topping the list of the most wasted foods, and dinner time the biggest pressure point, the festive period is actually the perfect moment to rethink our habits.

At Too Good To Go, we help people save money while reducing food waste — and with a little planning, those savings can stay in your pocket instead of ending up in the bin.”

The Christmas rescue guide

To help lower the food waste bill, Too Good To Go has shared its top tips in the run up to Christmas:

1. The ‘guestimate’ rule: With 79% of waste happening at dinner, don’t cook for the whole village if you’re only feeding your family. Calculate portions realistically to stop the bin filling up on Christmas night.
2. Freezer space: Start eating from the freezer this week. Using up the food you already have will lower your grocery bills in the expensive run-up to Christmas and clear essential space to freeze your leftovers over Christmas and helps avoid food waste.
3. Avoiding the ‘just in case”: Avoid the temptation to bulk-buy “just in case” during your main shop. Remember that the shops only close for a day or two over the Christmas period.
4. The day two veggie revival: Maximise your Christmas vegetable leftovers by tackling them in two groups. The first group can be made into a hearty vegetable soup, perfect as a starter on St. Stephen’s Day. For the second group put them in a mix of oil, a drizzle of honey and balsamic vinegar before roasting them in the oven to create great tasting honey roasted vegetables to accompany your leftover turkey and ham.

County Food Waste Breakdowns: 

Read more: Inver expands partnership with Too Good To Go to tackle food waste

© 2025, by ShelfLife reporter

Read More: Christmas EPA Too Good To Go

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