EU Parliament approves proposal to reduce textile and food waste

The European Parliament on Wednesday (13 March) backed targets for the prevention and reduction of food and textile waste across the bloc. However, environmental NGOs have criticised the proposal’s lack of ambition. 

At first reading, the Parliament adopted its position on the proposed revision of the directive on preventing and reducing food and textile waste in the EU.

Adopted by 514 votes in favour, the report by Anna Zalewska (ECR, PL) proposes to amend the previous European legislation on waste, focusing on two major waste-producing sectors: textiles and food.

Tackling textile waste

Every year, the average European produces around 11kg of textile waste, which will be incinerated or landfilled in 87% of cases, according to the European Parliament.

In 2022, the Commission published its Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, which includes measures on design, labelling, information requirements, the supply chain, reuse and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

The text adopted by Parliament takes up the idea of EPR by asking member states to set up systems where economic operators who make textiles available on the EU market will have to cover the costs of their separate collection, sorting and recycling.

The European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX) told Euractiv that “European harmonisation on textile EPR is essential to solve the waste problem, achieve textile circularity and facilitate compliance by businesses”.

Extended producer responsibility systems would have to be put in place 18 months after the revised directive comes into force.

In addition, by 1 January 2025, member states will have to guarantee the separate collection of textiles for reuse, preparation for reuse and recycling.

However, for EURATEX, “the short implementation timeline is deemed insufficient to build effective national EPR systems.”

Zero Waste Europe, on the other hand, pointed the finger at “the total absence of targets for the management and prevention of textile waste”, despite the Parliament’s commitment to introduce prevention targets for textiles as part of its 2023 EU textile strategy.

For this European network, which works to eliminate waste, the textile waste prevention target for 2030 should be set at 10-15%, rising to 33% by 2040, based on the volumes placed on the market in 2020.

Reducing the production of food waste

The Parliament’s proposal calls on EU countries to take appropriate measures to prevent food waste, at the production, processing, manufacturing, trading and distribution levels. This also concerns restaurants, catering services and households.

The measures highlighted in the report include the promotion of fruit and vegetables with external defects (the so-called “ugly” ones), smarter packaging to extend storage life, clearer labelling of use-by dates and making unsold foodstuffs fit for consumption available for donation.

For Zero Waste Europe, “taking more decisive action to reduce food waste can help free up land for biodiversity and carbon sinks.”

Adopted by the Environment Committee (ENVI), the Parliament validated the binding targets for reducing food waste by the end of 2030, namely at least 20% in food processing and manufacturing (instead of 10%) and 40% per capita in retail, catering, food services and households (instead of 30%).

The Commission is evaluating the possibility of introducing higher targets for 2035, respectively at least 30% and 50%.

However, the Prevent Waste Coalition is disappointed that the European Parliament is not delivering on its commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.”

The coalition – part of a wider group of 65 organisations from 22 different countries – has signed a joint declaration calling on EU policy-makers to support the 50% reduction target.

Next, member states must agree on their general approach to the text, after which the positions will be discussed in trilogues after the European elections in June.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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