Nearly sixty million tons of food waste occur annually in the EU—that is 132 kilos per person—and 12.6 million tons of textile waste. Clothing and shoes account for 5.2 million tons of waste; twelve kilos per person per year. It is estimated that worldwide less than one percent of all textiles are collected and recycled into new products.
The European Commission proposed updating EU waste regulations two years ago.
Each EU country must achieve waste reduction at the national level within five years. There should be a decline in unnecessarily discarded food by the end of 2030. Producers and processors of food must reduce their waste stream by ten percent; households, retail, and hospitality by thirty percent.
New regulations will require textile manufacturers to cover the costs of collecting, sorting, and recycling textiles. The new rules also apply to products including accessories, hats, shoes, blankets, bed linen, kitchen linen, and curtains.
“Today we take a strong step towards a circular economy in Europe,” says Dutch MEP Jeanette Baljeu (VVD). She was one of the co-authors of the bill. “We waste 58 million tons of food annually and 12.6 million tons of textile end up incinerated or in landfills. With the new rules, we oblige EU Member States and producers to drastically reduce food waste, and textile producers—especially those behind fast and ultra-fast fashion—to financially contribute to recycling and reuse.”