Proposal for Waste Framework Directive Revision - Textile Waste
date: 16/10/2023
Under the current EU rules on waste, Member States are required to set up separate collection of textiles by 1 January 2025. For this to happen, separate collection, sorting, re-use and recycling capacities within the EU have to be strengthened. This requires significant investments to build infrastructure, and to develop new technological solutions.
In particular, the Commission is proposing to introduce mandatory and harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles in all EU Member States. EPR schemes require producers to take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products, in particular at the end of the product’s life. Under the proposal, the level of the financial contributions of the producers will be based on the circularity and environmental performance of textile products (referred to as "eco-modulation").
The proposal will foster research and development in innovative technologies that promote circularity in the textile sector. It also supports social enterprises involved in textile collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling, and will ultimately incentivise producers to design more circular products.
To reduce illegal waste shipments to non-EU countries, often disguised as intended for reuse, the Commission's proposal further clarifies the definitions of waste and reusable textiles. This will complement the Regulation on waste shipments, which ensures that textile waste is only exported when there are guarantees that the waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner.