In February 2026, a police operation in Naples, Italy, seizing 200 kilograms of illegal shopping plastic bags once again brought the predicament of this long-standing European environmental pioneer's plastic ban to the public eye.
Italy was the first European country to implement a nationwide plastic ban, and its ban has been in place for 15 years. However, Luca Bianconi, president of the Italian Association of Bioplastics (Assobioplastiche), bluntly stated that more than a quarter of the plastic bags circulating in the market are still illegal products. The 15-year-old strict ban has failed to eradicate the persistent problem of rampant illegal plastic bags.
Italy's plastic ban was implemented in 2011.
Italy's plastic ban legislation began in December 2006, when the country passed the 2007 Finance Law, establishing a ban on plastic bags. It was initially planned to officially take effect on January 1, 2010. However, due to strong opposition from the plastics industry, the ban was forced to be postponed for a year. Finally, after the Italian cabinet confirmed it with a "1000-item extension" decree in December 2010, it officially came into effect on January 1, 2011. This ban even predates the EU's 2015/720/eu directive on lightweight plastic bags.
From the outset, the ban explicitly prohibited retailers from providing consumers with ordinary polyethylene non-environmentally friendly plastic bags, allowing only biodegradable plastic, cloth, or paper shopping bags that comply with the UNI-EN-13432/2002 unified standard. At that time, more than 200 Italian cities, including Turin and Venice, had already piloted the ban, implementing their own plastic bag sales bans.
Enforcement Details Implemented in 2013
Over the past 15 years, the Italian government has continuously improved its plastic ban regulations, gradually refining standards and increasing penalties, attempting to build a solid environmental protection barrier. In March 2013, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Development jointly issued Decree No. 73 (promulgated on March 18), further refining the nationwide plastic ban policy launched in 2011. This clarified the technical standards for legal plastic products and expanded the ban's scope-prohibiting the sale of oxidatively degradable plastics (which produce microplastics upon oxidation and decomposition, causing secondary pollution) and certain special polystyrene foam food containers, beverage containers, cups, and lids.
As a supporting enforcement measure, Italy officially launched penalties for illegally providing plastic bags in 2012. According to Decree No. 91 and other regulations in effect at the time, retailers providing consumers with non-compliant plastic bags could be fined between €250 and €2,500; the penalties for producing or importing illegal plastic bags were even more severe, with fines reaching up to €25,000.
Furthermore, as of early 2026, the Italian Parliament was still pushing for revisions to relevant regulations, attempting to address ambiguities and regulatory loopholes in the enforcement of the ban. 03. Ban Implemented, but Illegal Plastic Bags Remain Rampant
Despite increasingly stringent policies and concerted efforts from various parties, illegal plastic bags continue to circulate in the Italian market, maintaining a persistently high proportion.
As early as 2020, the Italian Parliament's Committee on Illegal Waste Management released data showing that non-compliant plastic bags accounted for approximately 25% of the plastic bags circulating in the market.
A statement by Luca Bianconi, president of the Italian Bioplastics Association, in 2026 confirmed that this proportion had not decreased despite subsequent tightening of regulations; over a quarter of the plastic bags in circulation were still illegal products.
These illegal plastic bags mostly evade compliance testing, failing to meet biodegradability standards, and tend to flow to small shops, roadside vendors, and other poorly regulated channels. The Campania region (where Naples is located) has become a major area for the production and sale of illegal plastic bags due to its geographically challenging regulatory environment. The 200 kilograms of illegal plastic bags seized this time are a microcosm of the illegal circulation situation in the area. Furthermore, in October 2024, Italian customs and the Carabinieri jointly intercepted 9 tons of illegally imported plastic bags from China. These bags lacked labels indicating biodegradability, compostability, and the proportion of recycled plastic, and some had already been sold to shops, further highlighting the complexity of the sources of illegal plastic bags.
The Reasons Behind Italy's 15-Year Plastic Ban's Failure to Break Through
A deeper analysis reveals that the failure to break through Italy's plastic ban after 15 years is due to multiple constraints.
From a market perspective, illegal plastic bags are inexpensive, offering a price advantage to small businesses and street vendors compared to compliant biodegradable plastic bags. Some operators, in order to reduce costs, are willing to purchase and use them illegally.
Meanwhile, consumer habits have not fully changed, and there is still room for improvement in acceptance of biodegradable plastic bags. Insufficient understanding of the plastic ban policy among some people also indirectly contributes to the circulation of illegal plastic bags. From a regulatory perspective, Italy's vast territory and numerous small businesses make comprehensive oversight difficult. Furthermore, the decentralized and covert nature of illegal plastic bag production and sales further complicates enforcement.
In addition, early plastic bag ban regulations contained some ambiguous interpretations. Although subsequent revisions have improved the regulations, loopholes in enforcement still need time to be addressed. Simultaneously, the transformation costs for the plastics industry are high. It is estimated that each plastic factory needs to invest €30,000 to €50,000 to replace its equipment with biodegradable plastic bag production equipment, which is unaffordable for some small and medium-sized enterprises, creating opportunities for illegal production.
It is worth noting that Italy's plastic bag ban policy has also faced compliance controversies. EU agencies have pointed out that its comprehensive ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags may violate the provisions of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive regarding the free movement of goods, which has also affected the consistency of policy implementation.
As a pioneer in Europe's plastic bag ban, Italy's 15-year journey has been both a long-term environmental battle and a valuable lesson for other countries and regions around the world. Banning plastics is not merely a simple policy prohibition, but a systemic project involving production transformation, market regulation, strengthened supervision, and increased public awareness. It requires both rigid policy constraints and the healthy guidance of the market, as well as the joint participation of the entire society. Currently, the EU has introduced new packaging regulations requiring a ban on many plastic products, including single-use plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables, from 2030. Italy, as an EU member state, also faces stricter environmental pressures.
