National Food Waste Recycling Week 2026
MyWaste kicks off National Food Waste Recycling Week 2026 as brown bin presentations now surge to more than 70% across the country
- Over 90% of households with a waste collection service across Ireland now have access to a brown bin – that’s 1.4 million households
- The commitment to food waste recycling is evident across the country, with households achieving brown bin presentation rates exceeding 70%.
- Today MyWaste announces Jo Linehan, renowned journalist and sustainability advocate, as its official brand ambassador
Friday 29, May 2026: MyWaste, Ireland’s official waste management guide, has today launched National Food Waste Recycling Week 2026 at Bord Bia Bloom Festival. Coinciding with the launch, MyWaste has also announced Jo Linehan, renowned journalist and sustainability advocate, as its official brand ambassador for the year. Now in its fifth year, the campaign is running from 30 May to 7 June and continues to raise awareness on best practice for food waste management.
Preliminary data for 2025 from the National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) shows significant progress in the uptake of food waste recycling services with over 1.4 million households across Ireland now using brown bins. Presentation rates having surged to 70%, highlighting Ireland’s growing commitment to food waste recycling and the circular economy.
Between 2024 and 2025, the number of households with access to the brown bin service increased by 10%, and presentation rates grew by 3%. All types of households across Ireland are now engaged with food waste recycling in both rural and urban areas, as well as all housing types, including apartments.
While food waste prevention remains the priority during National Food Waste Recycling Week, MyWaste is reminding everyone of the simple steps needed to make sure that inedible food waste (peels, rinds, eggshells) is sorted correctly in line with best practice.
National Food Waste Recycling Week not only celebrates the collective effort of households, businesses, waste collectors, local authorities, and communities across Ireland but also highlights the clear opportunity to build on this positive momentum. This year’s awareness campaign is focused on reducing bin contamination and ensuring more regular brown bin presentation, even if it is only half full. Frequent brown bin presentation helps to ensure increasing volumes of nutrient-rich fresh food waste that can be transformed to produce nutrient-rich compost and valuable biomethane energy. Recycling food waste is directly contributing to Ireland’s transition to a circular economy.
Pauline McDonogh, Circular Economy Co-ordinator at MyWaste, said:“National Food Waste Recycling Week is a chance to recognise the progress that has been made in brown bin roll-out and use across Ireland. The latest data shows that hundreds of thousands of brown bins are now being presented for collection every year, which is a very positive sign of how far we have come. A lot of work has already gone into expanding access to the service, raising awareness and supporting correct use, and that effort is paying off. There is still more to do, and this year’s campaign is about building on that success, making sure food waste is sorted correctly, contamination is prevented, and brown bins are presented regularly, without the need to be full, so the system works as well as it can for every household and business.”
She added: “When food waste is sorted correctly and kept free from glass, plastic and metal, it can be transformed into high-quality compost and renewable energy. That compost has many valuable uses, including enriching soil and supporting healthy plant growth in gardens, landscaping, parks and agriculture”.
Adding her voice to the National Food Waste Recycling Week campaign, MyWaste’s new brand ambassador, Jo Linehan, commented: “I’m delighted to come on board as the brand ambassador for MyWaste and to support National Food Waste Recycling Week 2026. Managing your brown bin efficiently is one of the simplest habits we can all build into our daily lives. What’s encouraging is that so many households are already engaged in presenting their brown bins, regardless of whether they are full or not. Now it’s about making that good habit second nature, putting the right items in the brown bin, keeping contaminants out and presenting it regularly. Small actions, done consistently, can have a big impact”.
The brown bin service accepts a wide range of food waste, including raw and cooked meat and fish, plate scrapings, fruit and vegetable peelings, eggshells, coffee grounds and food-soiled paper items such as napkins, paper towels, and the greasy part of pizza boxes. Light garden waste like grass clippings, hedge clippings, spent compost, and dead plants can also be included. However, to ensure the quality of compost and renewable energy produced, it’s crucial to keep out all contaminants. This means absolutely no glass, plastic, metal, packaging (all packaging should be removed from food waste), stones, rubble, barbeque coals, plastic plant pots, or large branches.
To maximise the impact of your brown bin, MyWaste encourages you to focus on these key actions during NFWRW 2026 and beyond:
- Line Your Caddy: Always use certified compostable liners in your kitchen caddy for a cleaner, more hygienic experience.
- Present More Often: Don’t wait for your brown bin to be completely full. Put it out regularly and on the dates for collection, even if partially full, to maintain a consistent recycling routine and ensure efficiency.
- Stay Vigilant Against Contamination: Take a moment to double-check items, remove all packaging, and be aware of common ‘bin intruders’ to keep your brown bin pure.
For more information on proper usage, please visit www.mywaste/brownbin for a comprehensive A-Z guide, helpful tips, and answers to frequently asked questions. Households and businesses can also contact their local waste collector with any queries.
Download MyWaste’s toolkit here
Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to answer your questions and provide regular updates. You can also contact us via: https://mywaste.ie/contact/ and follow our brand ambassador, Jo Linehan on Instagram: jo_the_futurist
ENDS
Pauline McDonogh, Circular Economy Co-ordinator at MyWaste is available for interview.
High-res images are available upon request.
To arrange please contact:
- Su Pal, Wilson Hartnell – 089 494 5799/ su.pal@ogilvy.com
Notes to Editor
Pauline McDonogh will be hosting MyWaste panel discussions on the Sustainability Stage at Bord Bia Bloom Festival 2026
| Thursday May 28th 11.15am – 12.00 Noon | From Surplus to Sustenance – Rethinking Food Waste in 2026 Panel to include: Odile LeBolloch, EPA and Angela Ruttledge, FoodCloud |
| Friday May 29th 12.15 – 12.45 | Launch of NFWRW – From Kitchen Waste to Garden Gold – How to make the best of your Composting & Brown Bin Panel to include: Pauline McDonogh, MyWaste, Jo Linehan, journalist and MyWaste brand ambassador and Tony Brehon, Cre |
About MyWaste
MyWaste.ie is an information portal and Ireland’s official guide to managing your waste. On this website, you will find everything you need about managing your waste responsibly, efficiently and in a way that suits you.
MyWaste.ie an initiative brought to you by the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices on behalf of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. There are three regional waste management planning offices in Ireland, Connacht-Ulster, Eastern-Midlands and Southern. Browse MyWaste.ie for information on your local waste services such as bring banks and recycling facilities, as well as tips on how to prevent waste, reuse and upcycle. MyWaste is an information portal only. We are not waste collectors or waste enforcement. Our role is to guide and provide information, but we can advise you on where and how you can report activities such as illegal dumping or possible problems with your waste collection service. You can find our A to Z guide here but if you can’t find the item you are looking for please get in contact with us through social medi