Ministers from the European Union approve tougher regulations aimed at reducing food waste.
Governments across the EU have come to an agreement on tougher measures to combat food waste. This includes a proposed regulation that asks households, eateries, and grocery stores to cut food waste by 30% by 2030, with producers responsible for reducing it by a tenth. Additionally, more textile disposal bins will be set up, with fashion companies like C&A, H&M, and Zara footing part of the bill for textile waste collection and processing.
Essentially, Fast-Fashion companies will be hit with fees for dealing with textile waste pollution. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke explains this move is about making manufacturers more responsible for their waste. She's super optimistic this legislative upgrade will advance the battle against waste.
The overhauled EU Waste Directive will now enter talks with the European Parliament, possibly as soon as this fall. However, there's disagreement over what year should be used as the goal's foundation in the food sector: The Commission wants it to be 2020, while some EU nations think this skews the numbers due to the Corona pandemic. Members of Parliament suggested a shift to 2035 instead.
Each EU citizen produces approximately 131 kg of food waste annually, resulting in an estimated 132 billion Euro loss in value, according to the Commission's calculations. In EU, each person discards 12 kg of clothing and footwear every year. Roughly only a fifth of this is collected separately, with the rest usually ending up in landfills or incineration plants.
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EU Environment Ministers are set to enforce stricter rules aimed at diminishing food waste within the regulations. This alignment with tougher measures will require households, dining establishments, and grocery stores to decrease food waste by 30% by 2030, with producers expected to reduce it by 10%. The battle against waste extends to textile disposal, with more bins being installed and fast-fashion companies like C&A, H&M, and Zara contributing towards textile waste collection and processing costs.
