Ireland's UN SDGs - Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production 2021

SDG 12.3.1 (a) Food Loss Index and (b) Food Waste Index related information is published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).

Ireland’s National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap

In January 2022, DECC published  'Ireland’s National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap' - Draft for Public Consultation.  In Chapter 1 'Food Waste - Setting the Scene' the report states:

Food waste is a global problem that has environmental, social and economic consequences.  Growing, processing and transporting food all use significant amounts of resources and food waste is estimated to contribute 8-10% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions.  Worldwide, more than one quarter of food that is produced is wasted.

Food waste and losses* can arise for a number of reasons at a number of different points in the food supply chain.  For example, at the early stages of agricultural production, crops may be grown which are never harvested, or they may be harvested but wasted due to damage or fluctuations in demand.  Retailers may throw away out of date or imperfect stock, and restaurants may throw away food left on plates by their customers.  Householders can throw away food because they buy too much or don’t use it on time.  Businesses and householders may not be aware of the amount of the food waste they produce and may not see that there is a problem that needs to be dealt with.  Each group will have their own reasons for wasting food and have their own solutions for reducing it. 

Ireland generates about 1.1 million tonnes of food waste each year, according to the EPA.  This represents a carbon footprint of about 3.6 Mt CO₂eq (3.6 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent).

In addition, soon to be published research will provide estimated quantities of food waste and losses arising from primary production.

*The Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2000 gives EU guidance on reporting of data on food waste and food waste prevention.  This states that food waste is any food that has become waste under these conditions:

1. It has entered the food supply chain

2. It has then been removed or discarded from the food supply chain or at the final consumption stage

3. It is finally destined to be processed as waste

Food loss, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), is the decrease in quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by food suppliers in the chain, excluding retailers, food service providers and consumers. 

The EU guidance mentioned above on food loss doesn’t match the concept from the FAO.  All food discarded as waste is covered in the EU as food waste.  The FAO, however, define food loss to also include the loss of food in primary production (e.g. pre harvest losses), which is excluded from the scope of Waste Framework Directive.

How much food do we waste in Ireland?

The document published in 2021 by the EPA titled ‘How much food do we waste in Ireland?' is intended to provide a snapshot on the nature and extent of food waste in Ireland based on currently available information and may subsequently be amended as new information comes available.

A summary of the information in the EPA report is given here.

Summary

• Globally, more than one quarter of food produced is wasted.  When food is wasted, all the resources used in bringing food to our tables are wasted too.
• From a climate perspective, food loss & waste is a major issue, contributing 8-10% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions.
• In line with the food waste hierarchy, food waste prevention should be prioritised and any unavoidable food waste that arises should be treated in the most resource efficient way possible.  Diverting food waste from landfill has environmental and financial benefits, but the benefits of food waste prevention are even greater.
• Using current best estimates, Ireland generates in the order of 1 million tonnes of food waste per year.  However, there is considerable uncertainty over this figure.
• Current household food waste is estimated to be 250,000 tonnes per annum.  The average Irish household throws out 150 kg of food waste each year; at a cost of approximately €700.
• Current food waste in the commercial sector is estimated to be 303,000 tonnes per annum (100,000 tonnes from retail and distribution and 203,000 tonnes from restaurants and food service).
• There is considerable uncertainty over food waste amounts in the processing and manufacturing sector, which could be as high as 500,000 tonnes, but this is likely to be an overestimate due to non-food waste being included in some waste categories.
• At present little is known about the nature or extent of food waste in the primary production sector in Ireland and further work is needed to identify potential data sources and generate knowledge of the situation on a national level.
• There is a significant amount of food waste not being segregated for separate collection, with over 406,000 tonnes of food waste in residual and recycling bins.  Food waste management has improved with an increase in segregated waste collections; but from a low base.
• Under recent changes to EU waste laws, Member States will have to report on amounts of food waste generated at the different stages of the food supply chain.  This paper presents a first statement on Ireland’s best estimates of food waste based on these reporting obligations.
• There are intrinsic challenges in quantifying food waste, and current estimates are based on best available data.  These estimates are mainly derived from structures in place for national waste statistics reporting, with varying levels of confidence attached to data quality, which are discussed below.
• In particular there is large degree of uncertainty in relation to data from processing and manufacturing.  The EPA is undertaking additional studies and working with sectors along the supply chain to improve data and further refine these estimates over time.

The urgency and challenge of addressing food waste is highlighted at international level and EU level through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Circular Economy Package. 

The EU aims to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 under the Waste Framework Directive 2018 Article 9:

Prevention measures shall:

”Reduce the generation of food waste in primary production, in processing and manufacturing, in retail and other distribution of food, in restaurants and food services as well as in households as a contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to reduce by 50% the per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030”.

Food waste is a priority stream within the reframed National Waste Prevention Programme (NWPP).  The EPA’s Strategic Action Plan 2016-2020 identified the reduction of food waste as a priority action.  The Government’s Climate Action Plan and Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy also include food waste as a priority waste stream and articulate a 50% reduction.

Current Situation

Under the revised Waste Framework Directive, food waste reporting will become a mandatory part of Ireland’s National Waste Statistics obligations, with first reporting due in June 2022 for reference year 2020.  Member States are to measure and report on annual estimates of the amount of food waste generated at the different stages of the food supply chain.  

The main objectives of the new reporting requirements are to:

• Provide policy makers with the means for monitoring food waste sources
• Support food waste prevention, in particular, edible food waste prevention

Ireland generates about 1 million tonnes of food waste per year, not including wasted food from primary production.  This is based on current best estimates, which include a degree of uncertainty on the data from processing and manufacturing.  Due to the high level of embedded resources and diverse collection mechanisms, post-consumer (household and commercial) food waste is of particular concern.

SDG 12.4.1 Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement currently has no national source published.

The UN SDG metadata repository gives the definition in the UN SDG 12.4.1 metadata document as follows: 

Definitions

This indicator refers to the number of countries that have ratified, accepted, approved or accessed to the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) listed below and who have submitted the information required in each agreement to the Secretariat of each MEA.

1. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel Convention);
2. The Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade (Rotterdam Convention);
3. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Stockholm Convention); Last updated: 3 February 2021
4. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol);
5. Minamata Convention on Mercury (Minamata Convention)

Further information on these conventions can be found in the Background Notes.

For each party, a percentage value is assigned to indicate how much of the required information has been submitted. 

Information for SDG 12.4.1 is published online on the UN SDG Indicators Global Database.  Data for Ireland shows the required information has been submitted for the Basel Convention and Montreal Protocol, 96.6% has been submitted for the Rotterdam Convention, 87.5% for the Stockholm Convention and 66.7% for the Minamata Convention.  See Table 5.2.

SDG 12.4.2 (a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment is published by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in their National Waste Statistics Report 2019.

National Waste Statistics Report 2019

In December 2021 the EPA published their National Waste Statistics Report 2019.  Information here in regard to hazardous waste, generation and treatment is taken from this report.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is produced from a wide variety of sources and covers many waste types.  Industry is the largest generator of hazardous waste in Ireland, producing solvents, sludges, oils and chemicals.  However, other sectors such as businesses, construction, healthcare, waste incinerators, farms and households also produce a range of hazardous wastes.  These include paints, oils, batteries, pesticides, asbestos and contaminated soils.