Reducing product and food waste: Commission seeks views on revision of the Waste Framework Directive

The revision aims to improve the overall environmental outcome of waste management in line with the waste hierarchy of ‘reduce-reuse-recycle', and the implementation of the polluter pays principle.  Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “To achieve the circular economy and climate neutrality objectives of the European Green Deal, we need to make a stronger effort to avoid generating waste in the first place and to make our waste management sector more performant. This is what we want to do with this revision and are working to set for the first time food waste reduction targets. I am looking forward to your views on how to make products more useful and less wasteful at the end of their life.” Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, said: “The challenges posed to our climate and biodiversity, the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts make the transition to resilient and sustainable food systems that protect both people and the planet even more important. Food waste is one of the greatest sources of inefficiency in our food systems. We must step up our efforts to curb such waste. By introducing legally binding targets to reduce food waste, we intend to reduce the environmental footprint of food systems and accelerate the EU's progress towards our global commitment to halve food waste by 2030.” The revision will focus on the following policy areas: prevention (including reduction of food waste), separate collection, waste oils and textiles and the application of the waste hierarchy and the polluter pays principle.   The public consultation will provide insights for the ongoing work on the impact assessment that will accompany the Commission proposal. The Commission invites all interested parties to express views. The consultation is open until 16 August 2022. More information is in the news item.