On July 5, 2023, the European Commission adopted the proposed revision of the Waste Framework Directive, which includes among other things new rules and targets for reducingfood loss and waste(FLW) in the EU. (1)
1) Ensuring resilient and sustainable use of EU’s natural resources.
The reform project is part of the legislative package ‘Ensuring resilient and sustainable use of EU’s natural resources’ and aspires to complement the framework of proposals already adopted in an effort to implement the
Green Deal
. (2) With emphasis on strategies:
- Fit for 55, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030. Through various initiatives on building thermal performance, motor vehicle emissions, and CO2 emissions and sequestration from land use-related activities (i.e.
carbon credits
), - Circular Economy Plan
Green Deal Industrial Plan.
, Zero Pollution Action Plan.
2) Circular economy in agrifood supply chains.
The circular economy
in agrifood supply chains is an economic imperative, as already highlighted in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation ‘s ‘Food circular design study‘ report (2021). A paradigm to follow in the (re)design of every value chain, starting with the recovery of wastewater for irrigation and organic materials to fertilize soils. Agrobiodiversity, agroecology and
upcycling
are the key-words to prevent and reduce food loss and waste (FLW), which the European Commission refers to as ‘a major source of inefficiency‘.
The outline for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive requires individual member states to adopt targets for reducing food loss and waste, with the triple aim of:
1) Recover food for human consumption, and thus contribute to food security,
2) To encourage the saving of economic resources by businesses and consumers,
3) Reduce environmental impacts related to production, consumption and disposal of materials not used for human consumption.
3) Waste framework directive, the proposed revision
The Waste FrameworkDirective (WFD ) was most recently amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851, which introduced:
- definitions of food loss and waste (FLW),
- First measures on prevention of food losses and waste in different member states,
- basis for establishing a common method and minimum quality requirements for uniform measurement of FLW levels.
The new directive–in the text proposed in Brussels–aspires to introduce more stringent requirements prevention programs, regarding waste. With special rules on food waste.
4) Food loss and waste (FLW). The new measures
New measures on food loss and waste include:
- food waste prevention (new Article 9-bis). Member states must take measures to prevent food loss and waste throughout the entire agrifood supply chains (from primary production to household consumption). To this end, awareness campaigns, promotion of food donations, identification of inefficiencies in agribusiness supply chains, promotion of collaboration among different actors, training support and skills development, along with facilitation of access to programs and resources are envisaged,
- Food waste prevention programs (new Article 29-bis). Within two years of the directive’s entry into force, member states must review and adapt food waste prevention programs to the new targets, as well as define the authorities responsible for coordinating the measures.
Member states will eventually be required to take the necessary measures to reduce, by the end of 2030,
- Foodlosses in the production stages(food loss), to the extent of 10%, and
- food waste at the retail, food service and consumption stages (
food waste
), to the extent of 30 percent(per capita).
5) European Citizens’ Food Waste Panel
‘Conference on the Future
of Europe’ is the system developed in the EU for ‘enable all Europeans, through a citizen-centered ‘bottom-up’ process, to express their views on what they expect from the European Union and to play a greater role in shaping the future of the Union.
The first of 49 proposals developed as a result of it includes the application of circular economy in agriculture, and the promotion of measures against food waste. (3)
European Citizens’ Food Waste Panel
was one of the follow-ups to the conference. 147 randomly selected citizens would have helped provide the basis for the legislative proposal under consideration, along with 23 recommendations aimed at reducing food loss and waste (4,5. See Fig. 1).
6) European Consumer Food Waste Forum, JRC
JRC(Joint Research Centre) and DG SANTE (Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission) have in turn established a multidisciplinary forum to addressfood waste (food waste), with the help of 15 researchers and practitioners. In order to collect data and identify a variety of practical ‘evidence-based‘ solutions. With the goal of producing a compendium of best practices to facilitate the adoption of effective interventions. (6)
Joint Research Centre (JRC) has also published 5 reports describing the activities in and drafting of the proposed directive under consideration and the development of the European Consumer Food Waste Forum. They concern:
- The research conducted to support the impact assessment of the proposed directive as it relates to setting legally binding targets for reducing food loss and waste. In addition to the outcomes of the public consultation and the results of an EU analysis of policy initiatives on food prevention, (7)
- A comprehensive assessment of the economic implications for various FLW reduction targets. The study uses the MAGNET adapted computable general equilibrium model and employs a set of sustainability indicators to analyze the economic, social and environmental impacts associated with reducing food waste. A bottom-up analysis based on life cycle assessment is conducted as an additional approach to assess the environmental implications of achieving food waste reduction goals, (8)
- the main findings from the work of the European Consumer Food Waste forum, where it emphasizes the importance of taking a systems approach that considers key factors and levers of change when targeting food waste reduction at the consumer level. The compendium encourages collaboration and concrete actions to address food waste and promote the creation of sustainable food systems, (9)
- the scope of the European Consumer Food Waste Forum and the evaluation framework for consumer food waste prevention interventions, (10)
- defining the key concepts of behavioral experiments for designing and administering effective interventions to reduce consumer food waste, with the goal of supporting practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders in using behavioral experiments to inform the design of food waste reduction interventions. (11)
7) Interim Conclusions
The proposed directive is now being taken to the first reading of Parliament and the Council, in the hope of reaching a compromise that will allow it to be approved by the end of the current legislative term.
Several EU initiatives and research projects (e.g., Wasteless) are meanwhile underway to prepare the Old Continent’s agrifood supply chains to reduce food loss and waste.
Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna
Notes
(1) European Commission. Food waste reduction targets. https://food.ec.europa.eu/safety/food-waste/eu-actions-against-food-waste/food-waste-reduction-targets_en
(2) European Commission. Ensuring resilient and sustainable use of EU’s natural resources. COM(2023) 410 final. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2023-07/Communication%20on%20Sustainable%20Use%20of%20Natural%20Resources.pdf
(3) Conference on the Future of Europe. Report on the final result. May 2022. https://futureu.europa.eu/it/pages/reporting
(4) European Commission. Impact Assessment Report – Annex 16. SWD(2023) 421 final. https://food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-07/flw_eu-actions_ia_report-2023_annex-016.pdf
(5) European Commission. European Citizens’ Food Waste Panel. https://citizens.ec.europa.eu/food-waste-panel_en
(6) European Commission. European Consumer Food Waste Forum. https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/projects-activities/european-consumer-food-waste-forum_en#forum
(7) European Commission. Setting the scene for an EU initiative on food waste reduction targets – Outcomes of consultation activities and analysis of efforts on food waste reduction. JRC Publications Repository, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133967
(8) European Commission. Assessing the economic, social and environmental impacts of food waste reduction targets – A model-based analysis. JRC Publications Repository, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133971
(9) European Commission. Tools, best practices and recommendations to reduce consumer food waste – A compendium. JRC Publications Repository,https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133004
(10) European Commission. Scoping consumer food waste: an evaluation framework of prevention interventions. JRC Publications Repository,https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128763
(11) European Commission. A simple introduction to using experiments to evaluate consumer food waste interventions. JRC Publications Repository,https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133661
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in Food Technologies and Biotechnologies, qualified food technologist, he follows the research and development area. With particular regard to European research projects (in Horizon 2020, PRIMA) where the FARE division of WIISE Srl, a benefit company, participates.
