Christmas food waste could hit €53m in Limerick this year, households warned

AS families across Limerick gear up for the annual Christmas food shop, new figures from surplus-food marketplace Too Good To Go are casting a spotlight on the county’s mounting food waste bill, estimated to reach €53 million this year.

Research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the average Irish household throws away approximately €700 worth of salvageable food annually.

Applied to the 76,756 occupied households recorded in Limerick in the most recent Census, that amounts to a staggering €53.7 million in wasted food over a 12-month period.

The problem intensifies at Christmas, traditionally the biggest food-shopping period of the year.
Bread tops the list of most commonly wasted items, according to EPA data, with 48% of people admitting they throw out bread most often, followed by fruit and vegetables at 42%.

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These items, Too Good To Go notes, can easily be repurposed into festive dishes such as breadcrumbs for stuffing, soups, fruit cakes and crumbles.

Dinner time remains the “danger zone” for waste, with 79% of people identifying it as the meal where most food ends up in the bin. With the year’s biggest dinner now days away, households are being encouraged to rethink their habits.“

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 at Too Good To Go Ireland.

She described the idea that Limerick households could be discarding €700 worth of food as “truly shocking,” adding that smarter planning can keep money in people’s pockets rather than in the bin.

To help households cut back, the company has issued its Christmas Rescue Guide, advising families to portion realistically, clear freezer space, avoid bulk-buying “just in case,” and transform leftover vegetables into soups or honey-roasted dishes for St Stephen’s Day.

Too Good To Go says small changes this Christmas can keep more food on plates, not in bins.”