Waste Directive

Introduction

Directive (EU) 2025/1892 is a significant amendment to the EU's cornerstone waste legislation, the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) 2008/98/EC. This update is a key component of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, targeting two of the most resource-intensive sectors: food and textiles. The directive aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by strengthening the application of the waste hierarchy—prioritizing prevention, followed by re-use and recycling.

Historically, the WFD established the main principles for waste management in the EU. This amendment evolves the framework by introducing harmonized and specific rules for waste streams that previously lacked targeted EU-level regulation. For textiles, it introduces a mandatory and harmonized Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme across all Member States. For food, it sets the first-ever legally binding EU-wide food waste reduction targets. The directive is closely related to other key EU legislation, including the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Waste Shipment Regulation.

Main Goal

The primary goal of the directive is to reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with food waste and the lifecycle of textiles and footwear. It seeks to:

• Prevent waste generation in the food and textile sectors.
• Establish a circular economy for textiles by making producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, from design to end-of-life management.
• Incentivize the eco-design of textiles to make them more durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable.
• Set clear, legally binding targets to drive significant reductions in food waste across the supply chain.
• Harmonize rules across the EU to create a functioning single market for secondary raw materials and used textiles, preventing illegal waste shipments and environmental harm.

Who It Applies To

The directive applies to a wide range of actors across the EU:

• Producers of Textile, Textile-related, and Footwear Products: This includes any manufacturer, importer, distributor, or other entity that first makes covered products available on a Member State's market. This definition explicitly covers sellers using distance contracts (e-commerce) from another Member State or a third country directly to EU end-users.
• Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs): Legal entities that will manage the EPR obligations on behalf of producers.
• Online Platforms and Fulfilment Service Providers: These intermediaries have new due diligence obligations to ensure textile producers using their services comply with EPR rules.
• EU Member States: They are required to transpose the directive into national law, establish the necessary frameworks (like producer registers), and monitor compliance.
• Actors in the Food Supply Chain: This includes businesses involved in primary production, processing and manufacturing, retail, restaurants, and food services.
• Social Economy Entities: Charities, social enterprises, and other similar organizations involved in the collection and management of used textiles.

Key Dates

• Entry into Force: October 16, 2025.
• Transposition Deadline: Member States must adopt and publish national laws to comply with this directive by June 17, 2027.
• EPR Scheme for Textiles: Member States must have EPR schemes for textiles established by April 17, 2028.
• EPR for Microenterprises: The EPR obligations will apply to microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees and turnover/balance sheet under €2 million) starting from April 17, 2029.
• Food Waste Reduction Targets: The legally binding targets must be achieved by December 31, 2030.
• Commission Review: The Commission will review the food waste targets by December 31, 2027, and the directive as a whole by December 31, 2029.

Exemptions

• Textile Producers: The definition of a 'producer' subject to EPR obligations excludes:
  • Self-employed tailors producing customized products.
  • Entities that supply used products already assessed as fit for re-use, or products derived from such used or waste products.
• Microenterprises: A temporary exemption is provided for microenterprises, which are only required to comply with the textile EPR obligations from April 17, 2029.

Key Provisions

• Binding Food Waste Reduction Targets: By 2030, Member States must achieve:
  • A 10% reduction in food waste generated in processing and manufacturing.
  • A 30% reduction in per capita food waste at the retail, restaurant, food service, and household levels combined.
• Mandatory EPR for Textiles: A harmonized EPR scheme is established for textiles, textile-related products, and footwear (as listed in Annex IVc). Producers are financially and operationally responsible for the end-of-life management of their products.
• Eco-modulation of EPR Fees: The financial contributions paid by producers to PROs must be modulated based on the environmental performance of their products. Criteria will include durability, reusability, repairability, recyclability, and recycled content, incentivizing sustainable design.
• Separate Collection and Sorting of Textiles: PROs must set up extensive and convenient separate collection systems for all used and waste textiles. All collected items must be sorted to prioritize re-use, followed by preparing for re-use and high-quality (fibre-to-fibre) recycling.
• Obligations for Online Marketplaces: To combat free-riding, online platforms and fulfilment service providers must verify that textile sellers are registered with a national EPR scheme before allowing them to use their services.
• Enhanced Role for Social Economy: The directive protects and supports the crucial role of social economy entities in the collection, sorting, and re-use of textiles.
• Waste Shipment Rules: The directive clarifies that separately collected used textiles are considered waste until they undergo a professional sorting operation. This aims to prevent the illegal shipment of textile waste disguised as second-hand goods.

Obligations & Requirements

• For Textile Producers:

  • Register in the national producer register of each Member State where they sell products.
  • Join an authorized Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) to collectively manage their obligations.
  • Pay EPR fees to cover the net costs of separate collection, transport, sorting, treatment, data reporting, and consumer information campaigns.
  • For non-EU producers or those selling via distance contracts, appoint an authorized representative in the Member State.

• For Member States:

  • Establish a national register for textile producers.
  • Authorize and oversee PROs to ensure they meet their obligations.
  • Implement food waste prevention programmes and monitor progress towards the 2030 targets.
  • Ensure enforcement of the new rules, including for online sales.

• For Online Platforms and Fulfilment Service Providers:

  • Obtain and verify the EPR registration number from producers selling textiles on their platform.
  • Suspend services for producers who fail to demonstrate compliance.

Affected Products, Actors, and Processes

• Affected Products:
  • Food: All food along the supply chain, regarding waste generation.
  • Textiles & Footwear: A wide range of products listed in Annex IVc, including apparel, clothing accessories, blankets, bed and table linen, curtains, and various types of footwear.
• Affected Actors: Producers, importers, distributors, and retailers of textiles and footwear (both physical and online), PROs, waste management operators, social economy entities, online platforms, fulfilment service providers, and actors across the food value chain.
• Affected Processes: Product design (eco-design), waste management (separate collection, sorting, re-use, recycling), supply chain logistics, e-commerce operations, food donation, and national waste reporting and monitoring.

Penalties

This directive does not specify uniform penalties. Instead, it follows the standard EU approach by requiring Member States to lay down their own rules on penalties for infringements of the national laws transposing the directive. Member States must ensure that these penalties are effective, proportionate, and dissuasive. Penalties will be defined in the national legislation of each EU country by the transposition deadline of June 17, 2027.