Food and Textile Waste in the Spotlight of the Waste Framework Review

If you read our last newsletter, you might recall that on 5 July 2023, the European Commission published its proposal for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD). You haven’t? We don’t blame you, it was July. In a nutshell:

Although we had hoped for this review to be another cornerstone of the Commission’s work under this mandate, the Commission decided to make a targeted revision of the Directive – nonetheless essential – to tackle food and textile waste and improve the environmental sustainability of the agri-food and textile sectors.

More specifically, the Commission’s proposal sets out targets to reduce food waste generation by 10% in processing and manufacturing, and by 30% in retail, restaurants, food services and households, compared to 2020 levels and per capita. It leaves it to Member States to draw up food waste prevention programmes including measures to reach these targets, but awareness-raising campaigns and measures aimed at addressing inefficiencies of the food supply chain are expressively mentioned in the text. Beyond food, improving the management of textile waste is another key objective of the proposal, pursued through the introduction of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles in all Member States, whereby fees will be eco-modulated on the basis of the environmental performance of textiles.

Since the publication of the Commission proposal, work has kicked off in the European Parliament and Council. The European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) is responsible for the file, and MEP Anna Zalewska (ECR, Poland) was appointed to lead the work. MEP Zalewska already issued her proposed amendments to the proposal on 6 October 2023. The Committees on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), and on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) have decided not to give an opinion on the text. The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), however, will do. Its rapporteur is MEP Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spain).

According to the ENVI Committee work programme, ENVI is due to hold a debate on the file on 23 October 2023, with a deadline for amendments set on 26 October 2023. The Committee aims to vote on its final report 14 February 2024. As for the AGRI Committee, it will hold a debate on the file on 28 November 2023, and aim to adopt its opinion on 24 January 2024.

On the Council side, the Environment Council was briefed by the European Commission on its proposal on 16 October 2023. The Agriculture and Fisheries Council should be briefed by the Spanish Presidency and the Commission on 23 October 2023.

This timeline, as it stands, could suggest that the file will be transferred to the next mandate for interinstitutional negotiations, unless there is a political push to make it a priority. Only time will tell… and our next newsletter, probably!

WHAT DID YOU MISS?

05 July 2023: Publication of the European Commission proposal for the revision of the WFD

06 October 2023: Publication of ENVI Committee Rapporteur’s report on the Commission proposal

WHAT’S NEXT?

23 October 2023: ENVI Committee debate on the file

26 October 2023: Deadline for amendments in the ENVI Committee

07 July – 22 November 2023: Ex-post consultation on the Commission's proposal

28 November 2023: AGRI Committee debate on the file

24 January 2024: European Parliament’s AGRI Committee vote on its WFD opinion

14 February 2024: European Parliament’s ENVI Committee vote on its WFD report