PACKAGING LABELLING REQUIREMENTS ACCORDING TO THE ITALIAN LEGISLATION
As from 01.01.2023
©Avvocato Iorio
1 . What exactly are the legal regulations introduced?
Legislative Decree No. 116 of 03/09/2020 was published in the Italian Official Gazette of
11/09/2020, in implementation of several European directives: Directive 2018/851/EU on waste, and
Directive 2018/852/EU on packaging and packaging waste. In particular, Art. 3, paragraph 3, point
3.c) of Legislative Decree 116/2020 amended paragraph 5 of Art. 219 of the Consolidated Environmental Law (Testo Unico Ambientale, Legislative Decree 152/2006), introducing specific labelling requirements for packaging. The new legislation, after a series of postponements, entered into force on 1 January 2023.
2. Which are, in essence, the information requirements to be fulfilled with labelling?
Art. 219 (5) of the Consolidated Environmental Law states that:
“All packaging must be appropriately labelled in accordance with the procedures established by the applicable UNI technical standards and in compliance with the decisions adopted by the European Union Commission, in order to facilitate the collection, reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging, as well as to provide correct information to consumers on the final destination of packaging.
Producers are also obliged to indicate, for the purposes of identification and classification of the packaging, the nature of the packaging materials used, based on Commission Decision
97/129/EC”.
The above translates, in summary, into the need for packaging to contain two kinds of information:
2.1. Information necessary for the correct identification and classification of packaging, which include the alphanumeric coding required by Decision 1997/129/EC in addition to other supplementary indications: this applies (a) either to packaging as it is and to packaged products and, (b) to packaging intended for ‘professionals’ (professionals are defined by the Italian Consumer Code as any natural or legal person who is acting for purposes related to his trade, business or profession,
or his intermediary (B2B circuit), and to those intended for end consumers only (B2C circuit);
2.2. Appropriate wording for separate collection: this applies only to packaging (full or empty)
intended for end consumers (B2C circuit only);
Therefore:
– all packaging (primary, secondary, tertiary) must include the alphanumeric coding provided for in Decision 1997/129/EC and other additional indications;
– primary packaging (intended for consumers) must also include the appropriate wording for separate collection.
3. The alphanumeric coding provided for in Decision 1997/129/EC and other complementary
information
– As already mentioned, the coding referred to in Decision 1997/129/EC must always be shown, both on primary packaging, intended for consumers (B2C), and on secondary and tertiary packaging, intended for ‘professionals’ (B2B). It is an alphanumeric system (i.e. consisting of numbering and abbreviations) which varies according to the seven types of materials considered in the related Annexes attached to the Commission Decision (I plastics; II paper and fibreboards; III metals; IV wood materials; V textile materials; VI glass; VII composites). By way of example, Table 1 below shows Annex I (plastics) and Table 2 shows Annex II (paper and fibreboard- Paragraph 5 of Art. 219 of the Consolidated Environmental Law generically refers to any Community resolution’ applicable to packaging labelling, but at the moment there are no others in addition to the aforementioned Decision 1997/129/EC. However, the same Art. 219 of the Consolidated Environmental Law also refers to “the labelling procedures established by the applicable UNI technical standards” (which are generally voluntary); in practice, are mentioned the very few specific UNI standards currently in existence that apply: (a) to plastic packaging (UNI 1043–
1 for plastics not included in Decision 1997/129/EC, and UNI 10667–1 to distinguish the polymers that come from recycling) and, (b) plastic packaging made up of several polymers (UNI 11469).
4 . The appropriate wording for separate collection (point 2.2. above)
As we have seen, the labelling of primary packaging (therefore intended for consumers), empty or full, must include the necessary information “…to provide consumers with correct information on the final destination of packaging” (Consolidated Environmental Law, Art. 219 paragraph 5). The purpose is to communicate to consumers how packaging waste is to be disposed of. CONAI, in its “Guidelines for environmental labelling of packaging” suggests using a phrase such as “Separate collection…” followed by the type of material (e.g.: “Separate paper and fibreboards collection”) accompanied by an invitation to check with the competent territorial Municipality about further provisions on waste collection.
5. The “Guidelines on packaging labeling” issued by MASE
The MASE (i.e. the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, formerly ” MITE ” ) has recently made available its “Guidelines on packaging labeling “, dated 03.15.2022, and subsequently periodically updated (downloadable at the following address : :
GUIDELINES_for_the_environmental_labelling_of_packaging_27.09.2022.pdf (mite.gov.it). In essence, the same guidelines already developed and disseminated by CONAI have been adopted and therefore, so to speak, “officialised”.
6. Obligation to identify packaging materials in the case of particular types of packaging
The “Guidelines on packaging labeling” issued by MASE report the following in this regard:
Small, multilingual and imported packaging
These are pre–packaged products of foreign origin, with small packaging (capacity <125 millilitres or surface <25 square centimeters) or with limited printed spaces and multilingual labelled packages, for which the destination market is not specified.
“Even for such cases it seems essential to ensure the use of digital tools (such as apps, QR codes,
barcodes or, where even these options are not viable, make available this information on the
websites) which make it possible to provide a correct and complete communication also to the final consumer with lower development costs for businesses”.
– Neutral packaging, with particular reference to transport packaging:
“The obligation to identify the composition material shall be deemed to have been fulfilled when the producer enters such information on the transport documents accompanying the goods, or on other external means, including digital ones”.
– Packaging intended for export
Even if the following provision, contained in the circular dated 17.05.2021 signed by Dr. Laura D’Aprile is no longer reported in the ministerial “Guidelines” of 03.15.2022, there is no reason to believe that it is not still valid: “Pending co–ordination of the relevant legislation, it appears appropriate to exclude from the labelling requirement packaging destined for third countries, which must therefore be subject to the specific regulations of the country of destination. Packaging destined for third countries, in all pre-export logistics, should be accompanied by suitable documentation certifying its destination, or by transport documents and/or technical sheets showing the composition information”.
– Use of digital
“In order to fulfill the obligation of environmental labeling of packaging, the use of digital channels is always permitted (e.g. Apps, QR codes, websites), in line with the process of technological innovation and simplification… These digital channels can replace completely or integrate the information reported directly on the packaging”. However, some clarifications follow regarding the need in such cases to make the digital channels chosen to convey the mandatory environmental information on packaging available to the final consumer, when this exists, and in any case make this information “easy and direct” access.
8. Entry into force of labeling obligations and stocks of non-compliant products
The MASE “Guidelines” recall that “With the Law Decree n. 228 of 30 December 2021, the so-called “Milleproroghe”, converted with amendments by Law 25 February 2022, n. 15, in art. 11 provides for the suspension of the environmental labeling obligation of packaging until 31 December 2022, as well as the possibility for sector operators to market products without the new environmental labeling requirements already placed on the market or already provided with a label at 1 January 2023, while stocks last”.
The ministerial “Guidelines” therefore clarify the following:
– What is meant by “products”?:
By “products” we mean empty packaging, and not packaged products (even if, evidently, the possibility granted to market packaging without the new labeling requirements as of 1 January 2023 translates into the possibility of also marketing the related packaged products ).
– Which packaging can be marketed after 12/31/2022?
According to the Guidelines, “Packaging can be marketed, even if empty, that has been labeled (which therefore is already printed. or for which the label has already been produced/affixed) before 31/12/2022; or packaging that has been purchased by packaging users from their suppliers before 12/31/2022″.
– How do you prove that these are stocks that are permitted to be traded?
Reference is made to the date shown on the purchase document of already labeled packaging (which therefore is already printed or for which the label has already been produced / affixed), “while the actual physical transfer of the goods to the buyer could take place even at a later date“. If a packaging self-producer has stocks of already labeled packaging in stock, he can refer to the date of the production batch of the packaging or label (on which it is envisaged to enter the mandatory information).
– Can stocks of packaging stored in other countries be marketed?
“If the packaging was purchased before 31/12/2022, it can be marketed even if the stock is in storage in another country. In this case, the date of the purchase document of the supply of packaging is authentic”.
6. Penalties
Provisions are made for penalties ranging from €5,200 to €40,000 for “…anyone who places packaging on the internal market that does not meet the labelling requirements” (Legislative Decree 152/06, Art. 261, paragraph 3).
Therefore, even if the obligations to provide information relating to “the nature of the packaging materials used, on the basis of Commission Decision 97/129/EC” apply only to the packaging producers (Art. 219 paragraph 5, second part), the relevant responsibilities are shared between the supplier and the professional user of the packaging (such as, for example, the producer or importer of packaged electrical or electronic equipment), which in fact concur in the choice of labelling. The abovementioned Interpretative Circular of the Ministry of Ecological Transition dated 17/05/2021 confirms that the labelling obligation also falls on the / professional ) users of the packaging.
Maurizio Iorio, Attorney at Law