National Conference of Recycling 2024: Italy once again among the best in Europe
This year marked another successful and essential edition of “Europe and the recycling industry”, the annual conference promoted by the Italian Foundation for Sustainable Development in collaboration with CONAI and Corriere della Sera, under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and ISPRA.
The conference, held last December 13th, featured Ignazio Capuano, president of CONAI and CEO of Burgo Group. Capuano discussed the new European legislature with Annalisa Corrado and Massimiliano Salini – members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety – and Vincenzo Gente, an official from DG Environment Unit B3.
Recycling in Italy 2024: key highlights
The conference also served as a platform to present the report “Il Riciclo in Italia 2024” (Recycling in Italy 2024), which, as in previous years, was printed on Burgo Respecta 100 recycled paper.
The report begins with an analysis on the role of recycling in the new European legislature: several procedures are still under review by the European Parliament.
Among these are the reform of the Waste Framework Directive, the Regulation on the management of end-of-life vehicles, and the one on preventing plastic pellet losses, aimed at reducing microplastics pollution.
Last spring, however, the new Regulation on transboundary waste shipments was approved. This regulation aims to maximise waste treatment within the European Union, strengthen the enforcement against illegal waste shipments, and enhance the traceability of the shipments themselves.
Regarding waste and recycling, it is worth noting that in 2023 the amount of recycled paper and cardboard increased by approximately 8%, reaching 4.7 Mt.
This achievement raised the recycling rate in Italy to 92%, over ten percentage points higher than the previous year and exceeding the European target of 85% set for 2030. The result was achieved also thanks to the distribution across the national territory of 345 treatment and recycling plants.
The most important challenge for the short-term future, according to the report, is to further improve urban waste collection.
To offer increasingly sustainable graphic papers, containerboards, and special papers to its customers, Burgo Group focuses on the life cycle of products and the entire production process.
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