Italy is still one of the best performing countries in the European Union when it comes to recycling packaging, but 2026 is shaping up to be a year of caution, warned Italy’s National Packaging Consortium (CONAI) on Wednesday 18 March, to mark World Recycling Day.
According to initial estimates, the packaging recycling rate in Italy should reach around 75% this year, or almost 11 million tonnes, down slightly on the record (76.7%) set in 2024 (see EUROPE 13674/26). This figure still puts Italy well above the European average of 67.5% in 2023.
Seven EU Member States have already exceeded the 70% target set for 2030: Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Italy.
The traditional plastics recycling sector is slowing down due to the increase in volumes of sorted packaging waste that the market can no longer absorb.
Italy, which has some of the highest energy costs in Europe, is also seeing the competitiveness of its recycling sector threatened by the influx of low-cost finished products imported from outside the EU. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)