EU against food waste - new food waste reduction target for 2030.

In September 2025, the legislative bodies of the European Union adopted an amendment to the Waste Directive, which requires member states to significantly reduce the amount of food waste generated. Community countries have until mid-2027 to implement the new legislation and until 31 December 2030 to meet the exacting standards.

Binding food waste reduction targets from 2030.

On 26 September 2025, Directive (EU) 2025/1892 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 September 2025 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste entered into force. The purpose of its adoption was to further reducing the amount of waste generated in all EU countries inter alia, by optimising waste management and strictly adhering to the waste hierarchy.

The amendment establishes binding targets for reducing food waste, which must be achieved no later than the end of 2030. EU Member States have been given 20 months to put mechanisms in place to achieve:

• 10% food waste reduction in the production and processing sectors food,
• per capita 30% reduction of food waste at the downstream stages of distribution and use food (in retail and other food distribution, in restaurants and food services and in households).

These targets will be calculated based on the average annual amounts of food waste generated between 2021 and 2023.

Food waste in the EU a generator of social, economic and climate losses

The motivation for adopting the revision of the Waste Directive was not only environmental, but also social and economic. IN THE EU approximately 59 million tonnes of food go into the bins every year, or 132 kg per inhabitant. According to Eurostat, more than half of this mass (72 kg) is wasted in households. At the same time, almost 33 million Community citizens cannot afford a full meal every other day. These figures and the scale of the phenomenon explain why, in recent months, the EU has placed so much emphasis on donating unsold food to redistribution institutions and on making food donations. In addition to humanitarian considerations, food waste also has an impact on the EU economy and climate. Wasted food means losses of up to EUR 132 billion per year and is responsible for 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the food system in the EU[i].

Read also: Segregation of bio-waste to be improved - only 9% of food waste is separately collected

30% per capita, or more than 1 million tonnes - that's how much we need to reduce food waste by

According to Eurostat, more than 4.6 million tonnes of food are wasted in Poland each year, of which:

• 1.3 million tonnes during food production and processing,
• 3.3 million tonnes in retail and distribution, restaurants and households.

For Poland, therefore, the introduction of a 30 per cent reduction target for the weight of food waste means that around 1 million tonnes of this waste must be prevented.

How to produce less food waste? The EU gives guidance and leaves the rest in the hands of governments

The EU legislator not only sets ambitious targets, but also proposes measures to achieve them. On the way to meeting the set levels of food waste reduction, EU Member States must at least:

• develop and support actions to promote a change in habits to be more sustainable, including information campaigns to build awareness and improve knowledge on food waste prevention,
• review the food market in order to eliminate practices that contribute to the production of food waste,
• foster cooperation between actors in the food value chain,
• encourage donations and other forms of food redistribution, to avoid unsold products being used for purposes other than human consumption,
• facilitate the development of competencies and the acquisition of financing, especially for the smallest players present on the food production, processing and distribution market,
• foster innovation, which aims to prevent the production of food waste.

In addition to following the guidelines provided in the body of the Directive, Member States may also take their own initiatives for preventing food waste. In addition, they should carry out continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of the implemented solutions using the methodology proposed by the EC in a separate implementing act.

Exemptions and protection for the smallest entities - who will not be covered by the new rules?

The revised Directive requires that the responsibility for meeting the targets set should be shared proportionally among all actors present along the food supply chain, i.e. in primary production, processing and manufacturing, retail and other food distribution. This group also includes companies and institutions operating restaurants and catering services. The EU legislator has emphasised that the involvement of these actors should be commensurate with their capabilities and role in the supply chain. This is to prevent excessive burdens being placed on the smallest market players, especially micro and small enterprises. Following this line of thought, micro-enterprises and farmers will not be covered by the new legislation. The latter are further protected from the unfair practices of large buyers (mainly retail chains), who have often refused to accept contracted agricultural products, resulting in food waste and unintentional losses on the part of food producers.

Also included in the revised Waste Directive are provisions to bring textile waste under extended producer responsibility. Find out more: There will be ROP for textiles - new responsibilities for clothing companies ever closer

[i] Food waste, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/pl/policies/food-waste/