EU: Revised Waste Framework Directive to cater for food and textile waste published in the OJEU

The EU is making changes to the 2008 Waste Framework Directive to cater for waste from the food and textile sectors.

Directive (EU) 2025/1892 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste  was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 26 September and will come into force on 16 October 2025.

The new Directive forms part of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, targeting the food and textile sectors as the first- and fourth-most resource-intensive sectors that currently do not fully adhere to the fundamental EU waste management principles, which require the prioritisation of waste prevention, followed by re-use and recycling. 

The amendments strengthen EU measures on food waste prevention and introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles and footwear.

Background

On 5 July 2023, the European Commission published a package of legislative proposals on the “sustainable use of key natural resources”, addressing food waste, textile waste, soil health, gene-edited crops, and seed marketing. The proposals on food and textile waste were set out in a targeted revision of the 2008 Waste Framework Directive. See our previous blog post for further details on the proposals. 

The final Directive generally reflects a more nuanced approach to implementation while maintaining the core objectives of the Commission’s proposal.

Food waste

The new Directive requires Member States to take measures to reduce food waste, by the end of 2030, by 10 per cent in processing and manufacturing and by 30 per cent (per capita) jointly in retail and consumption (restaurants, food services, and households). 

In the final version of the Directive, the reference period has changed from a 2020 baseline to an annual average between 2021 and 2023, providing more flexibility and potentially more accurate baseline data. 

The Commission will carry out a formal review by the end of 2027 to evaluate progress, with a view to potentially increasing these targets, and may propose new ones beyond 2030.

Textiles

The new Directive makes producers responsible for the full lifecycle of textiles and footwear by introducing a mandatory EPR scheme in all Member States. Producers will have to cover the costs of managing textile and footwear waste, providing an incentive to reduce waste and increase the circularity of these products.

The amounts producers would pay under the EPR scheme will be based on the environmental performance of textiles and footwear (known as "eco-modulation"). Modulation will be based on ecodesign requirements adopted under the EU Ecodesign Regulation. 

The final version of the new Directive explicitly addresses fast-fashion practices, allowing Member States to require modulation based on producers’ practices concerning product lifespan, use beyond the first user, and contribution to closing the loop to address fast and ultra-fast fashion.

Producers’ contributions will finance investments in separate collection, sorting, re-use, and recycling capacities.

By 2028, Member States must establish nationwide collection systems prioritising re-use and fibre-to-fibre recycling. Each Member State will set up a producer register, covering both domestic operators and online sellers.

The aim is to ensure that used textiles and footwear are sorted for re-use and that items which cannot be re-used are directed to recycling. The overall objective is that, by 2030, textiles and footwear placed on the EU market will be long-lived and recyclable, made as much as possible from recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances, and produced in a way that respects social rights and the environment - and to “make fast fashion out of fashion”.

The new Directive also clarifies what constitutes waste and what qualifies as reusable textiles and footwear, to address the issue of illegal exports of textile waste to countries not properly equipped to manage it.

Implementation timeline

Implementation will be phased as follows:

• 1 January 2026: Member States must carry out first compositional surveys of mixed municipal waste
• 17 January 2026: Member States must designate competent authorities for food waste coordination
• 17 June 2027: Member States must transpose the Directive into national law
• 17 October 2027: Member States must communicate food waste prevention programmes to the Commission
• 17 April 2028: extended producer responsibility schemes must be operational
• 17 April 2029: obligations extend to micro-enterprises (deadline extended from 2028, providing additional transition time).

Review and evaluation

The final version of the new Directive introduces a more comprehensive evaluation framework, covering both food waste and textile and footwear waste provisions. 

By 31 December 2029, the Commission must evaluate the Directive’s effectiveness, including EPR schemes for textiles, the potential for future waste prevention and collection targets, and prior sorting requirements for mixed municipal waste.