Glass, recycling rate at 77.4% in Italy in 2023

In 2023 in Italy 77.4% of the glass packaging that reached the market was recycled: 2,046,000 tonnes, against an increase of 15% in the amount released for consumption. This is certified by data from Coreve, the recycling consortium: a result in decline compared to 80.8% in 2022, the year in which 2,500,000 tonnes of recycled material was exceeded. However, for the fifth consecutive year, Italy is ahead of the European target of 75%.

"The sector of new container production remains the natural and, by far, the most important outlet for the recycling of glass packaging waste collected domestically, in a perfect circular economy scheme," Coreve president Gianni Scotti explains. "However, in the last year, the increase in the cost of scrap due to a turbulent market trend and its consequent import at lower prices from abroad has led to a reduction in the recycling rate, which is nevertheless well above the European target set for 2030. Italy, in fact, remains one of the most virtuous countries. However, the use of scrap glass from abroad, or worse, virgin raw material instead of secondary raw material, has contributed to making 2023 a particular year in which the recycling rate dropped slightly compared to 2022. It is crucial, however, that the industry continues to favour secondary raw material in order not to negatively affect the environmental accounting of glass'.

The use of scrap instead of mineral raw materials saves energy during both material extraction and melting. According to Coreve, 375,181 tonnes of oil equivalent and 2,406,989 tonnes of CO2 were saved through recycling in 2023.

The consortium, through local conventions, directly managed about 1,660,000 tonnes of glass packaging waste last year and supported, thanks to the calls for tenders launched in collaboration with Anci, 216 projects to improve collection in 579 municipalities with a total investment of 15 of the 22 million euro made available in just over two years. In 2023, there were 7,034 municipalities affiliated with Coreve: 89.0% of the total for 53.2 million inhabitants (90% of the population)

"Coreve's challenge will be to succeed in diverting from landfill, with the cooperation of Italian municipalities and collection managers, a good part of the approximately 250,000 tonnes that, still today, for various reasons, are not sent for recovery," Scotti points out. In 10 years, the amount of glass has increased by 26.7 per cent. Thanks to the grounding of the numerous projects for the development of separate collection of quality glass, presented by the municipalities through the calls for tenders prepared by Coreve starting in 2022, the consortium expects to reach 2,619,000 tonnes in 2026, with an overall growth of about 9% compared to 2023.