11 Jan 2021 Updates – Environmental Labelling of Packaging

With Italian Legislative Decree of 3 September 2020 and with the “Milleproroghe 2021” decree, it is now mandatory for all packaging placed onto the market to have coding identifying the material in accordance with Decision 129/97/EC; the obligation to provide indications on packaging destined for consumers to support them in correctly disposing of the packaging at the end of its life has been set back until 31/12/2021.

Legislative Modification

On September 11 2020, Italian Legislative Decree no. 116 of 3 September 2020 was published in the Official Journal; this legislation implements Directive (EU) 2018/851 on waste and Directive (EU) 2018/852 on packaging and packaging waste.

Article 3 para. 3 c) of the decree made modifications to para. 5 of Article 219 of the Environmental Code with regard to “Information criteria for packaging waste management activities”.

More specifically, this modification requires all packaging to be “suitably labelled in accordance with the methods established by the applicable UNI technical standards and in conformity with the provisions adopted by the Commission of the European Union in order to facilitate collection, reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging, as well as to provide correct information to consumers on the final destinations of packaging. Manufacturers are also obligated to specify the nature of the packaging materials used for the purposes of identification and classification of the packaging, on the basis of Commission Decision 97/129/EC.”

How to Create an Environmental Label

Where Is It Required?
This regulation applies to all packaging placed onto the market in Italy; as such, packaging destined to be placed onto the market in other EU countries, or for export to third countries, is excluded.

See the list of products defined as “packaging”

Which components is it required for?
Environmental labelling must be provided for all packaging components which can be separated manually.

It can alternatively be applied to:

• Individual components.
• Main body.
• Information component, to simplify identification by the end customer.

 

When this is not possible, digital solutions can be used.

What are the contents of the label?
The label must contain some minimum information classified as:

• Required: this is information provided in accordance with Article 219, para. 5. The coding makes reference to Decision 129/97/EC. The disposal instructions can be communicated using the proposed formulas, or using other methods of choice, as long as they are effective.
• Strongly recommended: for multi-component packaging, identification of the individual components, through written descriptions or graphical representations, helps consumers to separate and dispose of them correctly.
• Recommended: this is information provided on a voluntary basis which can help consumers sort their waste effectively.

 

Graphical representations can be freely chosen, however it is recommended to favour some indications in terms of the colours to use, for which CONAI promotes reference to UNI standard 11686 “Waste Visual Elements”.

What does “components which can be separated manually” mean?

Components which can be separated manually are considered those which the user can fully separate from the main body, without risks to their health and safety, using their hands only, without the use of other tools.

Source: CONAI “Etichettatura ambientale degli imballaggi” (environmental labelling of packaging)