LABELLING OF PACKAGING IN ITALY: 2021
Europe always aims at prevention and proper management of packaging after becoming waste.
This attitude is based on two different key principles: Precaution and Preventive action. Thus, it aims to obtain a right hierarchical waste management and reach the ambitious goal of recycling at least 55% of urban waste and 65% of packaging waste by 2025.
In fact, prevention and waste management are deeply linked to each other.
NEW ITALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL LABELLING 2021
In 2018, as a result, Europe decided to adopt the Directive (EU) 2018/851 concerning waste and Italy has transposed two of the four Directives approving the D.lgs. 116/2020 in September 2020.
Italy has transposed the Directive differently than other European Countries.
It became mandatory to declare on every detachable part of the packaging:
- Information about the composition of the materials according to the decision 129/97 of the European Commission;
- Information about the collection of packages.
Italy has transposed the Directive in a different way in comparison to the other EU members. It obliges to declare environmental information on the label “to simplify the collection, the re-use, the recovery and the recycling and to give the right information to consumer”.
From the very beginning, manufacturing and user packaging companies had doubts about this new Directive. They need to adapt their previous packaging by December 31, running the risk, otherwise, of heavy penalties.
The new environmental label can be formed by a QR Code printed on the packaging of a product. Now B2C companies must note on their labels:
- THE TYPE OF PACKAGING
- THE ALPHA-NUMERICAL CODIFICATION (from DECISIONE 97/129 / EC; to which UNI EN ISO 1043-1: 2002 or CEN / CR 14311: 2002 can be integrated)
- FAMILY of materials
- TYPE OF COLLECTION (separate mixed waste)
Instead, B2B companies must report only the TYPE of PACKAGING and the CODING without specifying the type of collection.
WHAT TOOLS DOES CONAI GIVE?
CONAI (Italian National Association) have decided to develop some guidance to help on environmental labelling, in order to clarify the doubts caused by timing and modalities with which the Government has transposed the Directive.
It has launched the Recycling Project and has given many tools to support companies:
- Webinar for labelling of packaging, whose videos are on their YouTube channel;
- E-tichetta: where you can find the FAQs section and where you can send any questions directly to CONAI. In this website you can also send your label and it will be published as “Best Practices” if it will be considered a role model.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: COMPAC
In COMPAC S.R.L., we have decided to support our reference market and help them with the disposal of our products, identifying on our packaging the composition of our materials and their collection.
In fact, we are working to give you more and more information about the composition and the disposal adding in our website a new section. In this section, it will be possible to check all the information about the tracking and the setup of our packages using a QRCODE.
Every product has a different footprint on the environment and our objective is to manage it in the most sustainable way.