The Netherlands is to launch a plan to cut back food waste by half by 2030 in compliance with EU and UN guidelines, RTL Nieuws reports.

The plan, formulated by the agriculture ministry, businesses and environmental organisations, will be launched officially later this month.

Some 25 companies have committed to the plan so far. Multinationals Unilever, Ahold Delhaize and McDonalds have pledged to report annually on how they have disposed of surplus food, while supermarkets have promised to make more room on their shelves for food that would otherwise be destroyed, RTL writes.

Stop wasting food: six Dutch initiatives

Chairman of the team of consultants behind the plan, sustainable food chain expert Toine Timmermans, said the participation of 25 companies was ‘a start’. ‘We aim to recruit a 100 by the end of the year. And then we’ll set our sights on 200, and so on,’ he told RTL.

The plan also includes a campaign to raise awareness among consumers, who, RTL writes, are the greatest source of food waste with 40 to 45% of the total amount. According to figures from Milieu Centraal every household throws away some 41 kilos of food and 57 liters of liquids, such as milk and juices.

More details of the plan will be made public on March 20.