The European Parliament has today (9 September) voted in Strasbourg to introduce binding EU-wide food waste targets, requiring member states to curb losses across manufacturing, retail, foodservice and households by 2030.

Under the new measures, food waste from processing and manufacturing must fall by 10 percent, while retail, foodservice and household waste must be cut by 30 percent per capita, compared with annual averages from 2021 to 2023.

The legislation, first proposed by the European Commission and agreed by the EU Council earlier this year, aims to reduce not only discarded food but also the water, energy and fertiliser used to produce and store it. Almost 60 million tonnes of food go to waste across the EU every year, equal to 132kg per person.

“Too little, too late”

Responding to the vote in Strasbourg, non-profit environmental advocacy organisation Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) said it welcomed the measures but warned they were “too little, too late”.

ZWE also called the outcome “inappropriate” given the reduction potential of the sector, particularly as food waste mismanagement is a major source of methane, the second most powerful greenhouse gas driving climate change.

Theresa Mörsen, Waste and Resources Policy Manager at ZWE, said:

In 2015, the EU and its Member States committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 12.3, a 50 percent reduction of food waste across the entire supply chain. We now lack decisive action to introduce binding targets, while impacts on climate change, land, and water use become ever more challenging.

EU-wide binding targets guarantee fairness among Member States and provide clear guidance for food businesses and investors in circular solutions for the years to come. This revision is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity to fully align the food sector with the EU climate goals.”

Member states will have 20 months following the rules’ entry into force to transpose the measures into national legislation.