The average Irish family wastes €700 worth of food every single year, the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated. 

Food waste is likely to peak over Christmas as people stock up to feed family and friends who visit over the festive season.

On Newstalk Breakfast, Machaela O’ Leary of the Too Good to Go app described the €700 figure as “shocking”. 

“Recently, we did a survey of consumers in Ireland and 50% of food bought over Christmas, consumers feel like it is wasted,” she said. 

“Think about the environmental impact of that but also the cost to people’s pockets over what is already quite an expensive period. 

“GoodToGo is an app that inspires people to fight food waste and we definitely have some tips and tricks for the Christmas period.” 

Food waste in a recycling bin at home. Image: Daisy-Daisy / Alamy

Ms O’ Leary said a simple way to cut down on waste is for people to think twice about what they buy in the shop. 

“37% of consumers said that they overcater,” she said. 

“Which I think resonates probably with all of us; so, I think it starts with being very mindful about what you buy. 

“Having a very explicit list going into your local stores - and trying to avoid picking up the things that you realistically know that you’re not going to consume. 

“Then, once you’ve had your big dinner and you have all of those leftovers, being a bit more creative about how you reuse them can really reduce your food waste.” 

Traditional roast turkey Christmas dinner. Picture by: Alamy.com

Another way of cutting down on waste is to reuse leftovers whenever possible. 

“In my home, we would always make a turkey and ham pie on Stephen’s Day or the day after,” Ms O’ Leary said. 

“Or when you take your mash or your veg - why not make that into a soup? 

“Why not make that into something that you can have for lunch? Or that you can store easily in the freezer.” 

A man slicing meat from a Christmas turkey. Picture by: Joel Rodriguez / Alamy Stock Photo

Ms O’ Leary also said keeping an eye on the temperature of your fridge - something she said would have a “big impact” on how long certain products last. 

“When it comes to dairy products, for example, ensuring that your fridge is at 5°C will absolutely make those products last longer,” she said. 

“We recently launched a ‘Look, smell, taste’ awareness campaign to educate consumers around the difference between best before versus use by. 

“Best before is really a quality indicator; so, use your senses - smell your milk, is your bread stale? 

“[Stop] assuming that because a product is on or past its best before it needs to automatically go in the bin.” 

Food waste accounts for an estimated 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

According to the EPA, the average Irish person wastes 146 kg of food every year - higher than the EU average of 130 kg.

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Main image: Food waste. Picture by: Alamy.com