Italy, compostable plastic packaging is recycled 47,500 tons, with a recycling rate of 57.8%.
The Italian Biorepack Alliance announced that in 2024, more than 47,500 tons of compostable plastic packaging entered the recycling process, with a recycling rate of 57.8% (2 percentage points higher than 2022), far higher than the EU's 2025 plastic target and exceeding the target set for 2030 (55%).
In terms of quantity, it has increased slightly more than 4,000 tons compared to 2022. Now we need to pay attention to quality issues.
Biorepack is a producer Extension Responsibility (EPR) alliance established in 2020, dedicated to the organic recycling of biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging (compostable bioplastic packaging certified under EN 13432). This is a national, private non-profit organization under the jurisdiction of the Italian EPR Alliance Conai. Biorepack Alliance has been in operation for the first three years and is the first institution in Europe to manage garbage in this part of the city.
In 2024, the national coverage of bioplastic packaging collection and treatment has also increased, and it has now covered 85% of the population. Among them, nine regions reached almost 100%, including Valleda Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Veneto, Friulian Venice Giulia, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Calabria and Puglia.
On the economic side, the economic subsidies allocated to municipalities and regulatory agencies due to classified collection, transportation and processing services have increased to 12.7 million euros (about 100 million yuan).
Biorepack Chairman Marco Versari (pictured) commented: "These numbers make us proud and confirm the value of the activities we carry out." He stressed that the challenge in the coming years is to improve the quality of organic waste collection. The main problem is the presence of non-compostable materials in organic waste, and its removal also means removing biodegradable substrates, including compostable bioplastics and waste generated from greening maintenance, thus affecting the final recovery rate. It is also important to make the processing system more efficient to maximize the conversion of compostable materials into modified agents.
To address these aspects, Biorepack is investing in advocacy and research for citizens, with the goal of identifying best management practices and equipment technologies to maximize the amount of biodegradable substrates recovered and minimize waste generated.
Biorepack has collaborated with universities, associations and research institutions to determine technologies to improve equipment efficiency (anaerobic and aerobic) and bioplastic treatment, study the impact of bioplastics and compost on soil, estimate the content of biobased carbon in ultralight bags, develop methods to detect the presence of non-biodegradable polymers in compostable bioplastics on the market, and carry out in-depth legal training activities on topics related to circular economy.
Recently, the European Bioplastics Association (EUBP) also issued a position document saying that household compost is an effective supplement to industrial compost and that household compost should be regarded as an additional option for handling organic waste, especially for food residues, garden waste and specific certified household compostable applications. EUBP also recommends individually collecting household organic waste through a specialized curbside waste collection system and then disposing it at an industrial composting plant or an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to ensure effective disposal.
