EU environment ministers have faced criticism for a lack of ambition over new legally binding food waste reduction targets.
At a meeting this week, the Council of the EU agreed to support a proposal from the European Commission to set a legally binding target for a 30% reduction in food waste from consumption covering retail, restaurants, foodservice and households, and a 10% reduction from food processing and manufacturing by 2030 against a baseline of 2020 (or earlier if appropriate national level data is available).
Environmental organisations responded to the news by criticising a perceived lack of ambition, noting that the targets fall well short of the 50% farm to fork reduction in food waste needed to meet sustainable development goal 12.3.
They also said the issue of food waste at the primary production level remains unaddressed by policy makers. A 2021 report from WWF estimated that 1.2 billion tonnes, around 15% of all food produced, is wasted globally on farms each year.
“Today our governments missed another chance to tackle food waste from farm to fork,” said Fynn Hauschke, policy officer on circular economy and waste at the European Environmental Bureau, Europe’s largest network of environmental citizens’ organisations. “The low ambition level and neglect of losses at primary production undermine the efforts to solve Europe’s food waste crisis. With climate change threatening food production and families struggling to put food on the table, evidence shows halving food waste is not just feasible but essential for reducing emission and saving costs.”
Negotiations will next take place between the Council, Commission and European Parliament to reach a final position on revisions to the Waste Framework Directive, which sets the legal framework for waste management across the EU. The Council’s position is identical to the Commission’s, whereas the Parliament favours slightly more ambitious action with a 40% reduction in consumption waste and 20% in processing and manufacturing.
