CONAI reports a recycling rate of 76.7 per cent for packaging in Italy in its latest annual report. This means that 10.7 million tonnes of packaging were recycled in 2024, an increase on the previous year.
In Italy, around 76.7 per cent of packaging placed on the market was recycled in 2024. This corresponds to more than 10.7 million tonnes out of a total of almost 14 million tonnes. According to the latest annual report from the CONAI consortium, this puts Italy well above the EU targets for 2030, which stipulate a recycling rate of 70 per cent. Together with energy recovery, the overall recycling rate even exceeds 86 per cent.
Plastics recycling developed particularly strongly: with over 50 per cent recycling, the target set by the EU for 2025 was achieved ahead of schedule. CONAI also made significant progress with paper and cardboard (4.6 million tonnes), glass (2.1 million tonnes), wood (2.3 million tonnes), steel (435,500 tonnes) and aluminium (62,400 tonnes).
CONAI President Ignazio Capuano emphasised that the results were the outcome of many years of collaboration between industry, local authorities and citizens. Now it is time to invest more in eco-design and the development of reusable packaging in order to master the upcoming regulatory challenges such as the EU Packaging Regulation.
Use of reusable packaging increased
According to CONAI, the use of reusable packaging also increased slightly: 1.24 million tonnes were collected in 2024, an increase of 20,000 tonnes compared to 2023. Director General Simona Fontana emphasised that less than 15 percent of packaging in Italy is not recycled. She called for further investment in separate collection and a stronger circular economy culture.
Around 7,400 local authorities have now concluded agreements with CONAI and feed packaging from separate collection into the system. This covers 97 per cent of the population. In central (+6.2 per cent) and southern Italy (+5.1 per cent) in particular, there was a noticeable increase in the quantities handed over in 2024. Deputy Director General Fabio Costarella emphasised that close cooperation with the municipalities is a decisive factor in the success of recycling.
Source: CONAI - Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi
