The European Parliament has given its final green light to new measures, including extended producer responsibility for textiles and legally binding food waste reduction targets.
EU countries will have 20 months following the law’s entry into force to transpose the rules into national legislation.
The updated legislation includes a requirement to set legally binding food waste reduction targets to be met by 31 December 2030.
These include a 10% reduction in food processing and manufacturing, and 30% per capita from retail, restaurants, food services and households. The targets will be calculated in comparison to the amount generated as an annual average between 2021 and 2023.
The new rules also mean EU countries will have to take measures to ensure that economic operators have a ‘significant role’ in the prevention and generation of food waste, and facilitate the donation of unsold food that is safe for human consumption.
EU countries will also be required to introduce new extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes to be set up by each member state, within 30 months of the directive’s entry into force.
EPR schemes aim to ensure producers cover the costs of their collection, sorting and recycling. Some EU countries, such as France, already have EPR for textiles schemes in place.
The EPR schemes must apply to all producers, including those using e-commerce tools and irrespective of whether they are established in an EU country or in the rest of the world. Micro-enterprises will have an extra year to comply with the EPR requirements.
The new rules will cover products such as clothing and accessories, hats, footwear, blankets, bed and kitchen linen, and curtains.
James Beard, Head of Voluntary Compliance at Valpak – a brand by circular economy specialists Reconomy, hailed the new rules as a ‘landmark moment’ for the industry.
“The ruling means that, over the coming years, producers selling textiles into the EU will need to take direct financial responsibility for the collection, sortation, and recycling of textile products once they reach the end of their life,” Beard said.