Environmental policies

Packaging: single-use products and fruit and vegetable packaging to be phased out from 2030

There are still some issues to be clarified regarding the bans, such as the plastic used to wrap bottles of mineral water. We will have to wait until 2027 for the measures to be finalised

by Anna Mulassano

30 June 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

From 12 August all packaging must be recyclable. For all intents and purposes, packaging includes, for example, dust bags for footwear and clothing, or flower and plant pots, if intended for use in connection with sale or transport. This is clarified in Communication C/2026/3084, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, together with the ‘Guidance Document for EU Regulation 2025/40’.

The issue of multipack packaging

The same regulation stipulates that, for products from single-use plastic products – which Directive 2019/904, in Annex V, had already prohibited from being placed on the market from 1 January 2030 – multipack packaging is now also included: for example, the packs containing six bottles of mineral water that you can buy in any supermarket.

Italian businesses have expressed concerns on this point, and it appears that the European Commission is prepared to remove this measure. These packages, in fact, correspond to what EU Regulation 2025/40 defines (in Article 3, paragraph 1, point 6) as ‘multi-pack’, that is, a package that groups together a certain number of sales units. It is irrelevant whether the grouping of individual units is sold in that form to the end consumer. Similarly, it makes no difference whether the packaging simply serves to facilitate restocking of shelves or to create a storage or distribution unit. Finally, it is irrelevant that the wrapping can be removed from the product without altering its characteristics.

Mineracqua’s position

Ettore Fortuna, managing director and vice-chairman of Mineracqua, explains: ‘Following our discussions at European level, it would appear that we have convinced the Commission that the label is necessary for handling as well as being an additional protective measure for the bottles once they have been placed in homes. From a very recent discussion with a senior representative of the EU’s DG ENV, we have learnt that this measure will be removed from the Regulation.”

According to Fortuna, “the mineral water industry is ready to play its part, as it has always demonstrated, including through the implementation of measures such as the tethered cap”, although “the true ecological transition can only be achieved if the entire supply chain operates efficiently, through balanced, realistic and practically enforceable rules, capable of combining environmental objectives with economic sustainability for both businesses and the end consumer’.

Other materials destined to disappear

Bottled water, however, will not be the only product to disappear from the shelves of large retail chains in just under four years’ time. In fact, Annex V of the Regulation also imposes restrictions on the use of single-use plastic packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg. This category includes, for example, the nets used to hold oranges and lemons or bags of salad. Single-use plastic packaging for food and drink is also banned: the so-called “plastic plates” or “plastic cups”.

Single-use plastic packaging for condiments, preserves, sauces, coffee creamers and sugar is also banned in the hospitality sector: this means an end to the small sachets of oil, salt and vinegar served with salads. In the hospitality sector, single-use packaging for cosmetics and toiletries intended for individual bookings and to be disposed of before the next guest’s arrival: small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and soap sachets, amongst others.

However, by 12 February 2027, the Commission will publish guidelines setting out Annex V in greater detail. Examples will be provided of the packaging formats falling within the scope of application and any exemptions from the restrictions, as well as an illustrative list of excluded fruit and vegetable products. For greater clarity, therefore, we will have to wait until 2027.