European Parliament: New Rules to Curb Textile and Food Waste – Every European Produces 12kg of Clothing Waste Annually.

On Tuesday, 9 September, the European Parliament gave its final green light to new measures aimed at preventing and reducing food and textile waste across the European Union.

Binding targets for food waste
The updated legislation introduces binding targets that Member States must achieve by 31 December 2030:

a 10% reduction in food waste from processing and manufacturing,

and a 30% per-capita reduction from retail, restaurants, catering services and households.

These reductions will be measured against the average volume of waste recorded between 2021 and 2023. At Parliament’s insistence, EU countries will also have to ensure that major players in the sector (to be defined at national level) take steps to facilitate the donation of unsold food that is safe for human consumption.

Producer responsibility for textiles
Producers placing textile products on the EU market will be required to cover the costs of collection, sorting and recycling through new extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, which each Member State must establish within 30 months of the directive’s entry into force.

These obligations will apply to all producers, including those using e-commerce platforms, regardless of whether they are based inside or outside the EU. Very small businesses will have one additional year to comply.

The new rules cover items such as clothing and accessories, hats, footwear, blankets, bed linen and curtains. At Parliament’s initiative, Member States may also set up EPR schemes for mattresses. Governments will furthermore be expected to address fast-fashion practices when setting financial contributions under the EPR systems.

Legislative process and next steps
Under the rules of the second-reading procedure, with no objections or amendments tabled, the President of Parliament announced in plenary that the legislative act was approved, following the Council’s endorsement earlier this summer.

The legislation will now be signed by both co-legislators (Parliament and Council) before being published in the EU’s Official Journal. Member States will then have 20 months to transpose the new rules into national law.

Background and figures
In July 2023, the European Commission proposed revising EU waste rules to target food and textile waste.

Each year, the EU generates almost 60 million tonnes of food waste (132 kg per person) and 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste. Clothing and footwear alone account for 5.2 million tonnes, equivalent to 12 kg per person annually. It is estimated that less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new products.

SOURCE: Jenny.gr