Single-use plastics, what are reusable fakes

Reusable fakes are plastic plates, glasses, cutlery that are presented as suitable for repeated use but in reality are often thrown away after the first use. They appear on supermarket shelves, in the aisle dedicated to tableware and party accessories: traditionally disposable products. Hence the confusion.

Sup (single plastic use), the European directive that came into force in 2019, banned straws, balloon poles, cutlery, as well as single-use plastic plates and containers. Instead, it admitted biodegradable and compostable products, promoting the arrival on the market of plates, glasses and forks made of certified bioplastic. Indeed, there is a vast offer of these types of pieces in large-scale distribution, with certification printed on the labels and a clear indication of disposal in the wet waste collection. However, there are also products defined as 'reusable' with the words 'reusable' printed on the surface, the indication 'tested for at least 20 washes in the dishwasher' and instructions for the destination of the waste: plastic collection. The product should be thicker, stronger, heavier. But if the use is only one, it is technically a return of the plastic disposable.

For those in the sector, the legislative decree 196/2021 by which Italy transposed Sup did not give a definition of 'reusable', creating a grey area in which single-use reappeared. Not even the recent Ppwr (European Packaging Regulation) has brought clarity on this point. The call is therefore for more controls and an agreed definition of what is actually reusable or not, working on weights and sizes.

Fake reusable is often cheaper than counterparts made of certified bioplastic. Since the ban on single-use plastic, companies in the Italian supply chain have in fact made significant investments by converting production, resulting in a more expensive end product.

In the latest report on the Italian compostable bioplastics supply chain, promoted by Assobioplastiche, Biorepack and Cic, and drawn up by Plastic Consult, we read that the sector's turnover, after the 2022 record (1.16 billion euro), fell to 828 million (-29.1%), on the back of the sharp drop recorded by list prices, while the total volumes of manufactured products reached 120.900 tonnes (-5.5% compared to 2022), with the greatest difficulties encountered by the single-use sector, which recorded a 20% drop. If the total production went from 3 thousand tonnes in 2018 to 24-25 thousand in 2022, in 2023 it dropped below 20 thousand and the trend for 2024 is confirmed to be downward, with an average contraction of 10-15%.