Roscommon County Council, with support from Zero to Waste Consultancy, aims to visit 500 households to engage face-to-face with 40% of the householders visisted i.e. 200 householders, as part of a programme to raise awareness and reduce household food waste in the region.
The engagement with householders will involve a discussion on food waste generation and the cost to the average householder as well as imparting knowledge on the main ways to reduce food waste.
The key to food waste prevention is a shopping list so the use of a fridge magnet (supplied by Stop Food Waste) will have a call to action on making a list or even taking picture of contents of fridge before going to the shops.
Information materials will also be provided such as pantry lists for the cupboard door. Tips on food not to put in the fridge will be provided. Other options are a remider to rotate the fridge’s contents- or an ‘eat me first’ basket for perishable items approaching use by /best before date.
The analysis of weights of food waste bins before and after the interactions will provide data if there has been a reduction in food waste since the visit.
The visits will be conducted in winter months to avoid green waste form skewing the results.