Packaging, 15.5 billion turnover from recycling for Italy

The packaging recycling and recovery activities generated by the Conai system, the national packaging consortium, generated a turnover of 15.5 billion in Italy in 2023. In terms of added value, the contribution to the national GDP is 3.5 billion euros and has supported 35,800 jobs along the entire industrial and service chain. These are the figures of The European House Ambrosetti's study 'The Circular Economy of Packaging: a Value for the Country', presented at Ecomondo in Rimini, and called to analyse the impact of Conai's activities on the Italian economy.

"It's about the extended supply chain that starts with separate waste collection and ends with the transformation of recycled material into new products," explains Conai president Ignazio Capuano, who judges the study, conducted for the first time, "an important publication, which once again demonstrates how the circular economy is an increasingly important branch of the country's economy and how the work of the consortium system is proving to be strategic: not only to protect the environment, which remains a primary objective, but also as a stimulus for employment and growth".

"The system represented by Conai and the supply chain consortia makes it possible to conserve resources and significantly reduce dependence on virgin raw materials: a great advantage that strengthens the competitiveness of our companies and reduces their vulnerability to fluctuations in the international raw materials market," adds the consortium's general manager Simona Fontana.

The picture remains that of a country, Italy, that remains at the top of European rankings related to the proper management of packaging when it reaches the end of its life. In 2023 our country recycled 75.3% of its packaging waste (10.5 million tonnes out of 13.9 released for consumption). Adding to the recycling figures those of energy recovery - the use of waste as an alternative fuel to produce energy - the total rises to 11.8 million tonnes: 85%. "For 2024 we confirm the forecast that plastics will also reach 50% recycling, a European target for 2025, therefore achieved one year earlier," says Capuano.

The chairman of Conai recalls how packaging accounts, by weight, for 8% of the waste produced in Italy in a year. But they contribute significantly to the circularity results of the Italian system, having been pioneers in the sector for 27 years, starting with the Ronchi Decree. For further development 'the use of secondary raw materials should be encouraged. Today we very often see that virgin materials, due to international market dynamics, have lower prices than recycled ones. Unfortunately, there is no economic recognition of their environmental impact'.