A food sharing app with over 55,000 Irish users is appealing for new sign ups in order to target the growing issue of food waste in households.
OLIO was co-founded by Tessa Clarke in 2015 in an attempt to encourage the redistribution of leftover food and products in local communities and businesses. The enterprise increased five-fold during the pandemic in neighbourhoods, which Tessa believes was a result of people becoming more conscious of the climate emergency.
“People instinctively wanted to share what spare they had during COVID-19. We also began to collectively realise just how precious food is. People began looking for simple ways to play their part and make a difference,” Tessa told Dublin Live.
READ MORE: Shocking video shows second blaze in Dublin hours after huge wildfire
Users can take photos of leftover food items before uploading them to the app. People living nearby will get a notification of available goods and can select what they want, before picking up the item. The average food listing on the app is requested in just over twenty minutes.
Ireland generated over 1.89 million tonnes of household waste in 2020 according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The large increase on previous years is partially down to lockdown.
Further research from the Central Statistics Office also revealed that 2 per cent of all households do not get rid of household waste through acceptable methods, a slight improvement on a previous figure of 3 per cent recorded in 2016.
OLIO’s input in reducing household waste over the years is the rough equivalent of taking 175 million car miles off the road. A staggering 60 million portions of food have become available through the app.
OLIO has also expanded to offer unwanted items such as clothing, toiletries, kitchen equipment, cleaning products and children’s toys. Tessa is keen for the app to gain traction outside of local communities and be considered by supermarket chains and other food retailers.
“We would love any food businesses with customer facing locations that throw away food to work with us – that could be supermarkets, corner stores, quick service restaurants, cafes, bakeries, canteens and more. Thanks to our volunteers we can collect their unsold or unserved food and make sure it’s redistributed to the local community rather than thrown away,” Tessa said.
The app is available to Irish users via Google Play and the App Store.
READ MORE
- Met Eireann forecasts sunny spells for Dublin before 'heavy downpours' to hit
- Rise in stolen cars over weekend causes 'huge distress' in Dublin suburb
- Dublin Bus driver hospitalised and road closed after major crash
- Full list of new speed cameras coming into effect in Dublin as motorists warne
- Former RTE host Eoghan McDermott posts statement on 'devastating' split from girlfriend Aoife
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
