The Italian agri-food chain calls for a STOP to PPWR

The draft PPWR (Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation) is waiting for approval, something Europe is pushing for before the June elections.

The Italian agri-food chain, united in the voice of Luigi Scordamaglia (CEO), asks to postpone the decision to the next European Commission.

Is reuse really worthwhile?

Scordamaglia defines the current draft of the regulation as an "illogical and irrational proposal that damages our country economically and socially, but also environmentally: switching to reuse means emitting 180% more Co2 and 240% more water". 

The text on the three-way table of the Commission, Europarliament and Council, does not favour the Italian industry: the changes initially accepted by the Parliament were rejected by the EU Council in its general orientation in December, backtracking to positions more favourable to re-use. This is because, among other things, it would be a heavy penalisation for a country like ours that has invested in packaging recycling over the past 20 years. 

"Switching to reuse for a country that has exceeded 70 per cent recycling and has taught its consumers to recycle products well is a total non-sense from any point of view," Scordamaglia pointed out.

Request for an impact study

Throughout the parliamentary and council debate, Filiera Italiana demanded an impact study assessing the actual returns of this policy, and it was consistently denied.

On 5 February, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius cited a study by the Commission's Joint Research Centre that would further strengthen the line in favour of re-use over recycling.

Today, Coldiretti, Filiera Italia, as well as Cia, Confapi, Coop, Conad, Legacoop and other trade unions are calling for a halt to negotiations to analyse the study, discuss it in depth, and refer everything to the next committee and European Parliament.