With the revised European Waste Directive entering into force today, the European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) offers the following statement on this important development and its implications for sustainability and social responsibility across Europe.
“Today, 16 October the revised European Waste Directive entered into force. The European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) welcomes the revision as a step forward to overcome our “throwaway culture”, which has been regularly decried by late Pope Francis in the past and by Pope Leo today.
According to the late Pope Francis, responding to the needs of people and the environment “also requires a determination to overcome the ‘throwaway’ culture of waste generated by present-day consumerism and by a globalised indifference that inhibits efforts to address these human and social problems in the light of the common good.”
Given the importance of waste reduction in the food sector, it is therefore a notable step in the right direction that European lawmakers could agree on a compromise to reduce food waste for retail, restaurants and households by 30% until 2030 and by 10% in the food manufacturing and processing sectors.
Regarding the textile sector, Member States are required to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility schemes by mid-2028. This is a good decision to overcome the worrying phenomenon of so-called “Ultra-Fast Fashion”. However, given the fact that each year around 10 billion kilograms of textile waste are discarded across Europe, it is regrettable that the Commission did not introduce concrete targets by 2030 for the collection, reuse and recycling of textiles in the revised directive. Such targets were supported by many stakeholders and would have certainly accelerated the much-needed transition from a linear to a circular economy. While such targets can still be introduced later on, until then most collected textiles will likely continue to be incinerated. Currently, only 1% of all textiles are actually recycled.As ELSiA, we appreciate that it has been possible to revise the European Waste Framework Directive. However, we are also aware of the limitations of political efforts alone. Ten years ago, Pope Francis already wrote in his encyclical letter Laudato Si ’: “We should not think that political efforts or the force of law will be sufficient to prevent actions which affect the environment because, when the culture itself is corrupt and objective truth and universally valid principles are no longer upheld, then laws can only be seen as arbitrary impositions or obstacles to be avoided.” (LS123). A shift in consumption patterns and lifestyles are also crucial to tackle the ‘throwaway culture’.
1) The European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) is a network of Catholic organisations working together to bring the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ to life. Founded in 2019, it is currently composed of eight members. They are: Caritas Europa, CIDSE, COMECE, Don Bosco International, Jesuit European Social Centre, Justice and Peace Europe, Laudato Si’ Movement and Pax Christi International. ELSiA intends to promote ecological justice and the social teaching of the Church as a shared and coordinated commitment of Catholic Alliances.
2) Cf Pope Francis, address to a delegation from the city of Manchester, 20 April 2023
3) Pope Francis, Encyclical letter Laudato Si’, n° 123
Credit thumbnail photo: Rebecca Teusen, (2022), CIDSE
