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Italy

Packaging waste by waste management operations (env_waspac)

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National Reference Metadata in Euro SDMX Metadata Structure (ESMS)

Compiling agency: Ispra - Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research

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Data are reported as follows:

Table 1 is filled in according to the new calculation rules.

Table 1a is filled in to show attainment of the old targets based upon the old calculation rules. It should be noted that for the calculation of the recycling targets at national level when applying the old calculation rules, for almost all the fractions it was already used the criterion for which the weight of the recycled packaging waste refers to the quantity of packaging waste that enter in an effective recovery or recycling process (input). The value of plastic packaging waste counts exclusively material that is recycled back into plastic. Moreover, waste generated data based on put on the market data do not include corrective factors (i.e. de minimis, free riders…).

Average loss rates have not been applied.

27 June 2025

In the calculation of the targets laid down in Directive 94/62/EC the amount of wood packaging repaired for reuse must be taken into account. In 2023, the amount of wood packaging repaired for reuse is 909.210 tonnes. Therefore, including this quantity both in the value of the waste produced and recycled, the recycling rate for the wood fraction is equal to 64,9%. The overall recycling and recovery rates, according to the new calculation rules, amount to 75,6% and 85,3%respectively. The amount of ferrous metal packaging waste recycled take into account the amount of metals in incineration bottom ash (about 35 thousand tons).

 

In general:

  • for waste packaging generation (put on the market) the reporting unit is the single producer or user of packaging and packaging materials.
  • for waste management data the reporting unit is the local unit of the waste management facility.

All packaging waste producers.

Italy - whole national territory.

Calendar year

Data accuracy is high being based on data of producers and users involved in the packaging chain (about definition please refers to the document Guide for applying for Environment contribution). The main source of data for the quantities of packaging put on the market is represented by "CONAI environmental fee (CAC)", established according to the weight and type of packaging material, together with the other EPR schemes official documentation sent by law to CONAI. The CONAI EPR Fee  is applied at the “first transfer” that means at the moment of transfer—whether temporary or permanent and for any reason—into the national territory, of the finished packaging carried out by the last producer or trader of empty packaging to the first user other than a trader of empty packaging, or of the packaging material carried out by a producer of raw materials or semi-finished products to a self-producer who is known or declares (for specific information refers to the document Guide for applying for Environment contribution).

In order to promptly determine the PoM of packaging of different materials, specific sector surveys are carried out for CONAI by several institutes, market investigations are carried out as well as other sources available to the supply chain consortia. Corrective factors were considered (free-riders, underreporting, de minimis, after-POM export).

Regarding packaging waste managed, the quantities are mainly evaluated by processing MUD declarations, waste accompanying documents (Waste Identification Form, FIR) and transport documents in the case of secondary materials together with the other EPR schemes official documentation sent by law to CONAI. Analyses were conducted at the level of single European Waste Code (decision 2000/532/EC). The approach combines several data collection methods adopted both by the seven material Consortia and other EPR schemes. Data are compared by ISPRA comparing with other sources of information such as: national MUD database of mandatory environmental declarations, data on the separate collection of municipal waste, censuses of plants.

CONAI undergoes a validation system of the data put on the market carried out by a specialized third party which provides for different levels of verification of compliance and correct implementation of the procedures indicated by the national Consortium, including documental verification and field checks.

Currently, for 2023, information on the quantity of reusable packaging placed on the market for the first time derived from:

  1. CONAI environmental contribution declarations with specific procedures dedicated to monitored and controlled rental and reuse circuits;
  2. CONIP environmental contribution declarations by the companies associated with the CONIP system.

Tonnes

See next point.

It is assumed that the annual generation of packaging waste is equivalent to packaging put on the national market, in the same period of time. It is obtained from the amount of empty packaging produced added to the packaging imports net of exports. The main source of data for the quantities of packaging put on the national market, net of the exports declared, is represented by the so-called "CONAI environmental fee (CAC)", established for each type of packaging material. It represents the form of financing through which CONAI, the National Packaging Consortium, supports separate waste collection and packaging waste recycling and recovery. Only put on the market of glass packaging is calculated by EPR Consortium through ad-hoc surveys on national sales in all channels (retail, cash & carry and wholesalers). These quantities are then compared with the information received from the glassworks about the average weights of the glass packaging. Specific annual investigations are carried out for heterogeneous flows of full packaging imported, typically relating to organized distribution, and are aimed at quantifying the composition by weight of the different materials used as packaging.

 The CORIPET EPR Fee, also called C.R.C. – CORIPET Recycling Contribution, is applied to producers who purchase PET pellets from which they produce and fill PET bottles or to producers who purchase bottle preforms from which they produce and fill PET bottles. Producers are obliged to submit monthly declarations indicating volumes of raw materials, bottle preforms, and other packaging accessorises

The PARI EPR Fee is based on use within the national territory: in the case of LDPE film, for each individual user Aliplast transposes into its management system (ERP) the information provided by the customer on the economic activity carried out by the same (ATECO code) and on the use that the latter intends to make of the purchased product

 Member Producers of CONIP are legally required to submit quarterly declarations to the Consortium, detailing the quantities of plastic crates and pallets placed on the national market during the reference period. These quantities must be calculated based on the sales invoices (in XML format) issued during the quarter, excluding any direct sales abroad

 The Erion Packaging C.I.E. contribution refers to the specific packaging material and the end-use channel, and is expressed in euros per tons. It is intended to finance the management of all activities aimed at achieving regulatory objectives. For Producers who are unable to accurately determine the weight of the packaging of technological products placed on the market, two simplified procedures are available.

 These investigations involve the trade associations and the main reporting companies, selected on the basis of their relevance on the total flow under investigation.

For the other requested indicators, the main data source is the information transmitted by the seven material Consortia and by other EPR schemes. Data are validated by ISPRA comparing it with other sources of information such as: national MUD database of mandatory environmental declarations, data on the separate collection of municipal waste, censuses of plants.

Specifically, the subjects obliged under current legislation fill in the annual environmental declarations (MUD) with data on the quantities of waste generated, collected, transported, and sent to, as well as those managed on the national territory. The data are detailed by single code in the European Waste Catalogue and by economic activity (ATECO 2007 classification, derived from NACE Rev.2). The database contains a specific section dedicated to packaging and packaging waste.

In order to align with the reporting methods provided for by the European directives, the mandatory MUD declaration has been modified by including a new form. The form must be filled in by those who carry out final recycling operations of municipal waste and/or packaging waste that produce secondary raw materials, end-of-waste, products and materials resulting from the recovery activity. They must indicate the treatment losses. In this way, the data calculated according to the new calculation rules will be supported by an effective quality control and traceability system for municipal and packaging waste streams.

Annual

Data is available 12 months from the reference year. Consolidated data is available 18 months from the reference year.

The same methodologies are applied between geographical areas.

Starting from 2021 two new corrective factors are calculated: 

  • de minimis means to definition of a threshold (e.g. managed volumes) below producers should not report waste generated
  • Free rider, Producers/users benefiting from collection systems without paying EPR fees 

The first one is applied to consider those companies who, despite excluded from the declaration, still submit their information to CONAI. Producers/users who in the previous year paid a total CAC of lower than €200 for ordinary procedures and €300 for simplified procedures are not required to declare their packaging placed on the market. However, although excluded, some companies send the declaration to CONAI for their data. CONAI estimate (average and statistical projection) of the last quantity declared (below threshold) based on companies still active which have submitted the declaration below the threshold in the last 4 years. The second one “Free riding” considers the legal disputes in place (Producers/users benefiting from separate waste collection without paying the EPR fees) and a second component of underreporting (Quantities which were not taken into account due to lack of declaration by producers/users).