Europe ‘Abandons Ambition’ with Waste Framework Directive Update

The Waste Framework Directive just got one step closer to making extended producer responsibility schemes a reality.

The European Council of the European Union’s presidency and representatives of the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the targeted revision of the Waste Framework Directive.

While the agreement still needs to be confirmed by both institutions before the formal adoption process may begin, it addressed food waste reduction targets as well as measures for a more circular, less linear textile sector.

“This agreement shows Europe’s commitment to fostering a sustainable and competitive economy. Textiles and food are two areas where we are seeing a lot of precious resources going to waste, so I am happy that together, with the co-legislators, we agreed on a way forward to change this,” Jessika Roswall, commissioner for environment, water resilience and a competitive circular economy, said in a statement. “The new rules will simplify the creation of a single market for textile waste and facilitate investments in innovations for textile waste management.”

The provisional agreement establishes “harmonized rules” on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textile producers and fashion brands. Under these schemes, manufacturers are to “contribute to the management” of used and wasted textiles—ultimately held responsible for their products’ next life upon end-of-life.

“By being responsible for the end of lifetime of the products they sell, producers will be encouraged to design longer-lasting textile products that are easier to be reused, repaired or recycled,” the European Commission said in a statement. “This contribution will also foster investment in separate collection, sorting, reuse and recycling capabilities.”

The co-legislators agreed to address the overgeneration of wasted textiles—likely stemming from ultra-fast and fast fashion practices—in an attempt to prevent consumers from discarding garments prematurely or to a less profitable downstream.

“During the final negotiations round, parliament succeeded to secure provisions making sure that food waste and textiles waste as part of the municipal waste will be further reduced,” rapporteur Anna Zalewska said in a statement. “We also set up the legal framework to ensure that producers contribute to the effective separate collection of textiles they produce. We managed to lower the administrative burden both for member states and economic operators.”

This temporary treaty, so to speak, provides for a “level playing field,” per the council. It holds all companies—including those with less than 10 employees and turnover below 2 million euros—in the scope of EPR schemes. All relevant players, size aside, would be granted access to necessary resources and infrastructure supporting proper waste textile treatment. With that in mind, microenterprises have an extra year—for a total of 3.5 years—to comply with any compulsory obligations following the establishment of EPR schemes.

“Today’s agreement on waste textile marks a significant step toward a robust, circular and competitive EU economy while upholding the polluter pays principle,” noted Paulina Hennig-Kloska, the Polish minister for climate and environment.  

Not everyone agrees.

Zero Waste Europe, for one, applauds the waste cuts while slamming the weak ambition. As such, the Brussels-based NGO called the EU—and its member states—out on dodging decisive action. While introducing EPR schemes for textiles “marks a major milestone,” the outcome presented lacks tangible targets.

Without these concrete provisions, the fees paid by producers are too little, too late, as there’s a lack of incentive, per the European group, for producers to build out these mandated infrastructures in sincerity.   

“The result leaves a lot of room for improvement; we were hoping that member states would take inspiration from existing schemes in France and the Netherlands and underpin EPR with concrete targets to achieve circularity,” said Theresa Mörsen, waste and resources policy officer at Zero Waste Europe. “That said, legislators have also introduced measures to target the root cause of the problems we see in the sector today: fast fashion and overconsumption. The text allows member states to adapt fees paid by producers according to the length of use of textile products.”

Giving credit where credit is due, the civil society organization also pointed out the parliament’s initial backing of a key measure to sort waste before landfill or incineration, effectively keeping recyclables out of trash. Now, policymakers have pushed action to 2029 with a review instead. Ultimately, though, Zero Waste Europe calls for a “more substantial review” of the Waste Framework Directive to become a priority during the mandate and be part of the Circular Economy Act.

“Ensuing access to secondary materials is vital for scaling up circular solutions,” Janek Vahk, zero pollution manager at Zero Waste Europe, said. “This step, though delayed, is a move in the right direction.”  

While the provisional agreement was reached by the Council’s presidency and the representatives of the based-on mandates from their respective institutions, it’s not done yet. It now needs to be endorsed by the council and the parliament before undergoing legal linguistic revision, per the release. Upon formal adoption, EU member states have a max of 20 months to update their national laws in line with the new rules.