Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The agreements in place at the moment are effective. We have to keep monitoring them. When I visited the FoodCloud facility here in Dublin and saw the amount of food that is distributed from there every day, it opened my eyes to the amount of food that would otherwise be thrown in the bin. We will also be changing thinking, through education in both national and secondary schools, about food waste and how it should be dealt with. Our approach works from the bottom up. We are going to get this sorted out. Deputies should remember that €700 of waste is generated per household each year. If a household saved half of that, it would be a saving worth €350. It is so tangible and simple. People have to think. Education is one part of it. Several steps have been taken in that regard. The EPA and local authorities are running campaigns online and on the ground to equip households.

There is a number of initiatives. Education, not regulation, is the way to go.

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