The UK has formally pledged to try and cut its food waste by 50% by 2030, with campaigners calling for the target to be binding.
Pressure from Friends of the Earth and people across the continent, including 60,000 petition signatories, has resulted in new targets which aim to cut food waste in half by 2030.
In the UK alone last year, over 10 million tonnes of food was thrown away.
The vote means that countries across the EU, including the UK, have formally pledged to try and cut their food waste by 50% by 2030.
Vitally, these targets aim to halve food waste right from primary production stage to the consumer, whereas a version proposed by the Commission last year pledged only to halve retail and consumer food waste.
'Significant vote'
Britain is set to leave Europe by 2019, by which time these changes should come into force, and put pressure on the UK government to take responsibility for food waste.
Kierra Box, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “This is a significant vote because for the first time, we have a really clear, shared plan of how food waste can be reduced and prevented. With the UK throwing out so much edible food, it’s clear that waste on this scale has to stop.
“However, if we’re serious about slashing food waste we need to stop just aiming for change, and instead make it happen. It was a lost opportunity that today’s targets aren’t binding which means countries can wriggle out of their commitments.”
Last week, European Union action to combat food waste was described as 'fragmented' and 'intermittent', according to a report from the European Court of Auditors.
