The European Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on new measures to cut food and textile waste across the EU.
Food Waste Reduction Targets
EU countries must meet binding national targets by December 31, 2030:
- 10% reduction in food waste from processing and manufacturing.
- 30% reduction per capita in retail, restaurants, food services, and households.
- Countries must ensure economic operators involved in food waste prevention help facilitate donations of unsold food that is still safe for consumption.
Producers Responsible for Textile Waste
- Producers must cover costs for collecting, sorting, and recycling textile waste under new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.
- These rules apply to all textile producers, including those selling via e-commerce, whether they are based in the EU or not.
- Micro-enterprises will have 12 extra months to comply.
- Covered products include clothing, footwear, accessories, household textiles, and curtains.
- Member states can also introduce EPR schemes for mattress producers.
- Special measures will be taken to address the impact of ultra-fast and fast fashion.
Next Steps
- The Council will formally adopt its position before the European Parliament’s second reading.
- The revised waste rules align with the EU’s push to reduce food and textile waste, which amounts to 60 million tons of food waste and 12.6 million tons of textile waste annually.
- Currently, less than 1% of textiles are recycled into new products.
These new regulations aim to create a more sustainable waste management system while reducing the environmental impact of food and textile industries.
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