Partial suspension of the packaging environmental labeling obligation

Jan 11, 2021

Legislative Decree 3 September 2020 and the new labeling obligation

Article 3, paragraph 3, letter c) of Legislative Decree no. 116 of September 3, 2020, published in the Official Gazette on September 11, 2020, made changes to paragraph 5 of Article 219 of Legislative Decree no. 152 of April 3, 2006, providing for the mandatory environmental labeling of packaging as of September 26, 2020.

However, the new regulation has left room for many interpretative doubts, which is why CONAI, in collaboration with the Italian Packaging Institute, has promoted a working table involving UNI, Confindustria and Federdistribuzione, in order to arrive at a shared reading of the new obligations, elaborated within the Guidelines for Environmental Labeling, published last December 16, following a public consultation with the participation of the entire industrial sector.

CONAI's Environmental Labeling Guidelines

Prepared by CONAI with the Italian Packaging Institute, thanks to the collaboration with UNI, Confindustria, Federdistribuzione and many other trade associations, the guidelines are the expression of an entire industrial chain.

The large document was created with the aim of clarifying the labeling requirements in force since last September 26, following the publication in the Official Gazette of Legislative Decree 116: a novelty that has left room for interpretation doubts and the need for clarification quickly.

After the public consultation on an initial proposal for guidelines (1,800 attendees at the launch event, followed by more than 1,000 other contributions via email), which ended on November 30, CONAI prepared the document with the dual intent of encouraging a shared understanding of the new obligations and providing a tool for guidance and support to companies

The Conai Guidelines: what does the obligation provide for?

From an examination of the text of the law, it emerges how the contents to be reported on the environmental labeling of packaging differ according to the intended use of the packaging. In fact

If the packaging is intended for the final consumer, the mandatory contents concern
- the alphanumeric coding identifying the material as per Decision 129/97/EC;
- information to support the final consumer in the correct segregated collection of packaging (e.g. "Segregated collection + Family of material. Check the provisions of your municipality").
If the packaging is destined for the B2B channel, the mandatory contents concern only the alphanumeric coding identifying the material as per Decision 129/97/EC, while additional information on collection is voluntary.

Concerns on the part of companies regarding compliance times

Following the entry into force of the packaging environmental labeling obligation in September 2020, Confindustria and many other Associations urgently proposed a transitional regime of eighteen months to allow packaging producers and users to adapt their production and management processes to the new obligations provided for by the standard.

This need was also pointed out in CONAI's Guidelines for environmental labeling.

The Decreto Milleproroghe 2021 and the partial suspension of the obligation

On December 31, 2020, Decree Law no. 183 of December 3, 2020, the so-called "Milleproroghe 2021", was published in the Official Gazette.

Paragraph 6 of Article 15 provides for the suspension of the application - until December 31, 2021 - of the first sentence of paragraph 5, of Article 219 of Legislative Decree No. 152 of 2006 and subsequent amendments, namely "All packaging must be properly labeled in accordance with the methods established by the applicable UNI technical standards and in accordance with the determinations adopted by the Commission of the European Union, to facilitate the collection, reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging, as well as to give correct information to consumers on the final destinations of packaging”.

On the other hand, no provision was made for the suspension of the second sentence of paragraph 5 of art. 219, i.e., "Producers are also obliged to indicate, for the purposes of identifying and classifying packaging, the nature of the packaging materials used, based on Commission Decision 97/29/EC."

The decree law is effective December 31, 2020.

So what has changed with the new provision contained in the Decreto Milleproroghe 2021?

The decree has not provided for the suspension of the obligation to affix on packaging the alphanumeric coding identifying the material as per Decision 129/97/EC, in force from 26 September 2020. Therefore, all packaging (primary, secondary and tertiary) must have this code. With regard to the affixing of material identification codes on the basis of Decision 97/129/EC, the obligation is expressly incumbent on manufacturers.

The obligation to affix on packaging destined for the B2C channel the indications for correct segregated collection is suspended until December 31, 2021. Therefore, companies in the sector will have one year to comply with the obligation and also provide this information on packaging destined for the end consumer.

ItaliaImballaggio January-February 2021