Within boundaries

The EU has required separate food waste collection since January 2024. Yet in 2024, nine EU countries still collected less than 10% of it. So where does the rest go?

In this final episode of the season, Giulia and Nanna follow the food waste that falls through the cracks: into incinerators, into landfills, and into a much bigger global picture.

Janek Vähk, Zero Waste Europe's Zero Pollution Policy Manager, explains what happens to methane when organic waste is buried or burned, and what policy can do about it.

Then Mariel Vilella, Director of the Global Climate Programme at GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), zooms out to show how the rest of the world is grappling with the same problem.

Resources:

• NABU study on incineration in Germany
• Video - Material Recovery Biological Treatment
• Addressing Landfill Methane Emissions with Environmental Justice
• Seven Key Solutions to Landfill Methane

Doorstep collection in Brussels, shared bins in Copenhagen, nothing at all across the border.

Food waste collection across Europe is a patchwork, and it's confusing even for people who genuinely try to do the right thing. In this episode, Giulia and Nanna dig into why collection systems vary so wildly, why that variation matters more than you'd think, and what a truly good system looks like.

They're joined by Manon Jourdan, Zero Waste Europe's Waste Prevention Manager, and Steffen Walk, Scientific Officer at the European Compost Network, to walk through the full journey from separate collection to composting and biogas production.

Resources:

• Bio-waste generation in the EU: Current capture levels and future potential – Second edition
• Guidance for municipalities on the best-performing methods to separately collect bio-waste
• Fighting climate change, one bio-waste bin at a time – how the #ForkToFarm project supports Montenegro’s environmental transition
• LIFE BIOBEST video

You've probably heard that cows burp methane. But what about those forgotten courgettes at the back of your fridge or the oranges left for too long in your fruit bowl?

In this first episode, Giulia and Nanna unpack the surprisingly direct link between everyday food waste and one of the most potent (and overlooked) greenhouse gases contributing to the climate crisis: methane.

With the help of Enzo Favoino, Chair of the Scientific Committee at Zero Waste Europe, they trace the journey from plate to bin to atmosphere, and ask: why does methane barely feature in the climate conversation when it matters this much?

Plus: what can we actually do about it?

Resources:

• Tackling Methane Emissions: Now And In The Future
• Briefing for new MEPs: Make Methane Matter
• Nudges Against Food Waste: how to turn smart food habits into everyday practice in European households?
• Zero Waste to Zero Emissions