Led by the UK’s House of Lords’ EU Committee, 16 national parliaments wrote to Juncker on Wednesday urging a strategic approach to food waste in Europe as part of a new Circular Economy waste reduction and recycling programme. The European Union has estimated that 89m tonnes of food are wasted each year in the region, and could rise to 126m tonnes a year by 2020 without specific action.
“Food waste is a huge issue, not just for us in the UK, but across Europe. With these 16 national parliaments signed up, we have shown the European Commission that there is a real collective desire to work together to tackle this problem. We look forward to seeing what proposals the Commission comes up with,” said Baroness Scott, Chair of the EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee.
In December, the Commission dropped a previously proposed Circular Economy package on efficient energy use, which had been supported by 15 firms, including Unilever and environment campaigners. A Commission official told FoodNavigator at the time that the plan “covered only half the circle” of creating zero waste, and the intention was to create a more ambitious package.
The previous plan had aimed to improve recycling rates to 70% by 2030, reduce food waste by 30% by 2025, increase packaging waste recycling and reuse, and phase out landfilling for recycling waste. The current average recycling rate across the EU is around 42%, according to a recent Eurostat report.
The letter to Juncker is the first ever ‘Green Card’ sent to the Commission – a means by which national parliaments can combine to make proposals. Until now, national parliaments could register objections to Commission proposals through a process known as subsidiarity, but had no way to combine to put forward initiatives. This Green Card was supported by 16 of the 41 chambers of national parliaments across the EU.
“Mr Juncker and his colleagues have made it clear that they want to engage better with national parliaments, so I sincerely hope that the Commission sits up and takes notice of our proposal. We’ve shown we can work together, across national boundaries, in order to give national parliaments, and the citizens they represent, a greater say in shaping the EU,” said EU Select Committee chair Lord Boswell.