Italy: New regulation on certain single-use plastic packaging 

 

Italy has published a proposal for a technical regulation establishing biodegradability and compostability requirements for certain single-use plastic packaging. 

This draft legislation updates Legislative Decree No. 152 (April 3, 2006) to mandate biodegradability and compostability for specific packaging types. This alignment follows the discretion granted to Member States by Article 9(2)(b) of EU Regulation 2025/40. 

The proposal is structured as a single article with two primary components: 

Key Provisions of Paragraph 1 

• Subparagraph (a): New Standards & Compliance 

• Mandatory Requirements: Inserts a new article into Part Four of the 2006 Decree, officially requiring the listed packaging to be biodegradable and compostable. 

• Food Safety & Waste: Reinforces that all materials must still adhere to food-contact safety standards and existing waste management laws. 

• Exemptions: Establishes the formal procedures for granting exemptions as permitted by Annex V and Article 25(4) of the EU Regulation. 

• Subparagraph (b): Enforcement 

• Penalties: Updates Article 261 of the 2006 Decree to introduce specific administrative fines for businesses that fail to meet these new compostability requirements. 

Strategic Objective 

By requiring certain single-use plastics to be biodegradable and compostable, this measure utilizes a specific legal exception to the general recyclability rules of Regulation 2025/40. This ensures that manufacturers can continue producing environmentally conscious, compostable solutions while remaining in full compliance with European law. 

To find out more about environmental compliance and compliance for packaging, do not hesitate to contact the Product Compliance Institute directly.