On 11 September 2020, Legislative Decree No. 116 of 3 September 2020 was published in the Official Gazette, which transposes EU Directive 2018/851 on waste, and Directive (EU) 2018/852 on packaging and packaging waste.
In addition, Ministerial Decree No. 360 of 28 September 2022 was published on 21 November 2022, which adopts the Guidelines on Environmental Labelling pursuant to Article 219, paragraph 5, of Legislative Decree No. 152 of 3 April 2006, for the correct fulfilment of packaging labelling obligations by responsible parties.
In brief:
- On all packaging (primary, secondary and tertiary) manufacturers must indicate the alpha-numeric coding required by Decision 97/129/EC
- All packaging must be labelled in the form and manner that the company deems most suitable and effective for achieving the objective, for which the use of digital channels (Apps, QR codes, websites) is always permitted, which can completely replace or supplement the information directly on the packaging
- Packaging intended for B2B, e.g. packaging intended for professionals, or packaging for transport or related to logistics or exhibition activities, may not display the information on the final destination of the packaging, but must compulsorily display the coding of the composition materials in accordance with Decision 129/97/EC
- According to Decision 129/97/EC, packaging is defined as “composite” when it is made of different materials that cannot be separated by hand. For such packaging, the alphanumeric coding of Decision 129/97/EC is the one provided for in Annex VII, which stipulates different coding according to the family of material predominant by weight and the secondary material(s)
- For the purposes of correct identification of the materials of composite or multilayer packaging, it is considered that, where the weight of the secondary material(s) is less than 5% of the total weight of the pack, the packaging shall be considered as a monomaterial packaging and labelled according to the material prevailing by weight. Otherwise, the coding will be as per Annex VII of Decision 129/97/EC if it is a composite packaging.