The cabinet has approved a grant scheme covering 80 per cent of eligible costs, up to 20,000 euros per business, to help restaurants, caterers, bakeries and patisseries cut food waste, in a pilot due to run in 2027. The scheme, called ‘zero waste to kitchens’, was proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and falls under de minimis aid.
The pilot is expected to cost 100,000 euros, to be covered by the Department of Environment’s budget, and aims to support around five to ten businesses.
It aims to help businesses sharply reduce food and other waste, improve their environmental performance and build a culture of waste prevention across the business sector.
The scheme is aimed mainly at restaurants and food services, catering, and selected categories of manufacturing, in particular bakeries and patisseries. The exact amount each business receives will depend on the number and type of eligible expenses it carries out.
The scheme is in line with the European Green Deal and with binding targets in the amended Waste Framework Directive (2025/1892/EC) to cut food waste by 2030. These require a 10 per cent reduction in processing and manufacturing, and a joint 30 per cent per capita reduction across retail, restaurants and food services, and households.
The pilot’s results will be assessed at the end of the first cycle, and the scheme will be adjusted and continued depending on the findings. It is expected to help prevent waste at source and support the move to a circular economy, and its annual evaluation will inform improvements and a possible expansion of the measures in later years.
In 2023, about 130 kilos of food waste per inhabitant were recorded across the EU supply chain, 18 per cent of which came from restaurants, food services and food retail.
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