By Abdullahi lukman
European Union (EU) member states and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on new regulations aimed at reducing food and textile waste by 2030.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
The new rules set EU-wide targets for reducing waste by 2030, with food waste from processing and manufacturing to be reduced by 10 percent, and waste from retail, restaurants, food services, and households by 30 percent.
These targets represent the first EU-wide reduction goals for food waste.
In addition, the new legislation includes provisions to encourage the donation of unsold but safe food.
Anna Zalewska, a Polish EU lawmaker who led the negotiations, emphasized that the provisions were designed to be both feasible and realistic for member states to implement.
The rules also address textile waste, requiring producers to cover the costs of collecting, sorting, and recycling textile products.
This includes companies using e-commerce platforms, regardless of whether they are based in the EU or outside.
Textiles covered by the new regulations include clothing, footwear, accessories, bedding, and more.
Currently, the EU generates over 59 million tonnes of food waste annually, amounting to an estimated €132 billion in losses.
In addition, 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste is produced each year, with clothing and footwear accounting for 5.2 million tonnes.
The agreement still needs to be formally endorsed by EU ministers and the European Parliament, which is expected to be a formality.
