Waste Framework Directive: Targeted Revision
On 5 July 2023, the European Commission introduced a proposal for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) to reduce waste, namely food and textile waste, and the environmental impact of waste management.
Following the trilogue negotiations initiated on 22 October 2024, the co-legislators reached a provisional agreement on 18 February 2025. This final agreement will now have to be endorsed by the EU Council and the EU Parliament before undergoing legal linguistic revision. Once formally adopted, Member States will have up to 20 months to transpose the new requirements into their national laws. Notably, the provisional agreement introduces binding food waste reduction targets for Member States to achieve at the national level, by 2030, including a 10% reduction in processing and manufacturing and a 30% per capita reduction at the retail and consumption levels, compared to the amounts of food waste generated between 2021 and 2023. Regarding textile waste, the preliminary agreement establishes harmonised rules on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
A Revision with Unresolved Issues
While the final text acknowledges the role of packaging in preventing food waste, the targeted revision fails to address key structural shortcomings of packaging waste management in Europe and introduces a concerning reference to State-run Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) regarding EPR obligations for the textile sector.
What’s next?
Despite the revision’s shortcomings, not all hope is lost. As the EU continues to strengthen its regulatory framework to ensure efficient and well-functioning waste management systems, the upcoming new Circular Economy Act, which the EU Commission will unveil by the end of 2026, offers a crucial opportunity to address structural deficiencies while supporting the attainment of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation targets as well as the creation of an EU market for secondary raw materials.
Starting from EPR, the new Circular Economy Act should ensure the proper enforcement of Article 8a of the WFD, strengthening and further harmonising Extended Producer Responsibility governing principles across the EU, ban state-run PROs and enshrine the recognition of the earmarking principle for EPR fees in EU law.
WHAT DID YOU MISS ON WFD?
18 February 2025: The EU Council and Parliament reach a provisional agreement.
18 March 2025: The Parliament’s ENVI Committee approves the provisional agreement resulting from the interinstitutional negotiations.
19 March 2025: COREPER validates the provisional agreement.
WHAT'S NEXT ON WFD?
Q2 2025: Lawyer-linguists revision
7 July 2025: Approval of the text in plenary
Q3 2025: Expected publication of the final text in the Official Journal of the EU and entry into force of the directive (tbc)
Q1 2027: Deadline for Member States to transpose the directive into national law (tbc)