Food and clothing companies operating in the European Union (EU) will now take on more responsibility for helping cut food and textile waste, after the European Parliament set legally binding targets on waste reduction, collection and recycling for the two sectors.
The updated Waste Framework Directive, approved on 9 September, requires EU countries to cut food waste by 30% per capita in households, retail, restaurants and food services, and by 10% in food manufacturing and processing by December 2030. These targets will be calculated compared to how much waste EU countries generated as an annual average between 2021 and 2023. Supermarkets and food operators in member states must also find ways to safely donate unsold food.
Europe wastes about 59mn tonnes of food – worth €132bn – each year, according to EU data.
The law also brings in extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes to tackle Europe’s growing mountain of textile waste. EU countries produce about 12kg of textile waste per person per year.
EPRs are already in place for packaging, batteries and electric and electronic equipment, and were recently introduced for the disposal and recycling of end-of-life vehicles. Similarly, this most recent EPR obliges all member states to make producers – including those selling online or based outside the EU – cover the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling clothing and accessories, hats, footwear, blankets, bed and kitchen linen and curtains.
These measures must be in place within the next 30 months, although microenterprises will have an extra year to comply.
Environmental groups welcomed the new rules as a step forward but expressed disappointment that the targets were not more ambitious. Brussels-based NGO Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) called the measures “too little, too late”, noting that in 2015, the EU had committed to a 50% reduction of food waste across the entire supply chain.
“We now lack decisive action to introduce binding targets, while impacts on climate change, land and water use become ever more challenging,” said Theresa Mörsen, ZWE’s waste and resources policy manager, in a statement. “This revision is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity to fully align the food sector with the EU climate goals.”
The group also called on the EU to review and strengthen the EPR schemes for textile waste collection and recycling.
Polish MEP Anna Zalewska, who led the negotiations, said the final compromise struck a fair balance. “We succeeded in ensuring feasible and realistic provisions for member states and shielded farmers from negative impacts,” she said in a statement.