Packaging, recycling continues to grow: 76.7 per cent in 2024

The recycling rate of packaging in Italy, which accounts for 8% of total waste, continues to grow. In 2024 our country recycled 76.7% of the packaging placed on the market: 10.7 million tonnes out of a total of over 13.9, for an increase in absolute terms of 200,000 tonnes, equal to over one percentage point more than the 2023 result (75.3%, while it was 71% in 2022). This is certified by the national consortium Conai in its new general report.

"The numbers tell of an efficient system, which has been able to consolidate over time a network of cooperation between companies, institutions and citizens," comments Ignazio Capuano, chairman of Conai: "To have exceeded 76% recycling of packaging is an important result, especially if we think that Europe asks us to reach 70% by 2030. All supply chains exceed the material-specific EU targets set for this year, even plastic is at 50%. But we cannot stop there. Complex challenges await us, such as those related to the Sup directive (on single use plastic products, ed) and the new European packaging regulation Ppwr. For the former, the goal in 2025 is to intercept 77% of Pet bottles: we are at 70-71%, an ad hoc campaign has also been launched. Increasing collection will help achieve another EU target: to use 25% recycled material, on a national basis, in new bottles. For the Ppwr the first implementation will be in August 2026: we are working on technical definitions, for the right compromise between simplicity for the consumer and uniformity for all EU countries. As Conai on the subject, we are organising several seminars for companies, which have had an average of 4,000 participants each'.

In detail, in Italy in 2024, 4.6 million tonnes of paper and cardboard, 2.3 million of wood, 2.1 million of glass, 1.1 million of traditional plastic and 47,500 of compostable bioplastics were recycled, for a total of 1.8 million tonnes, 435,500 tonnes of steel and 62,400 of aluminium. Among the significant leaps forward was that of the plastics chain: in 2024 it finally managed to exceed the 50% recycling rate demanded by the European Union by 2025. Results achieved in cooperation with municipalities, through the national agreement with Anci. In 2024, almost 7,400 municipalities signed agreements with the consortium system, covering 97% of the population.

If we add to the recycling figures those of energy recovery, the total amount of end-of-life packaging recovered exceeds 12 million tonnes: 86.4% of the amount released for consumption. There is also a slight increase in the quantity of reused packaging: 1.2 million tonnes in 2024, an increase of over 40,000 tonnes compared to 2023.

"There is still much to be done," adds Simona Fontana, director general of Conai: "It is essential to continue to invest in boosting separate waste collection and creating an increasingly widespread culture of circular economy. By applying environmental contributions modulated according to the recyclability of plastic and paper packaging, since 2018 we have more than halved the presence of non-recyclable packaging on the market. Therefore, since July this year, we have made the diversification for paper-based composites more incisive by linking the contribution to actual certified recyclability."