In 2021, the Corepla consortium sent almost 690,000 tons of plastic packaging to be recycled, an increase compared to the previous year, while the quantities sent to landfill or energy recovery decrease. However, they continue to account for over 40% of the total collected in a differentiated manner
The global crisis of the value chains in the year of the post-pandemic restart did not stop the collection and recycling of plastic packaging waste . According to the Corepla supply chain consortium , despite the slowdown in supplies and the surge in energy costs, 2021 saw a slight but significant increase in the quantities of post-consumer packaging collected and sent for treatment in the selection centers. A total of one million 475 thousand 747 tons , up 3% compared to 2020, which marks a new record in terms of quantities handled, reaching 24.9 kg for each citizen.
“The Italians – said the president of Corepla Giorgio Quagliuolo on the sidelines of the annual assembly of the consortium – are making a considerable effort to sort waste correctly, thanks also to the initiatives implemented by municipalities and companies”. recycling is also growing, with a rate that exceeds 50% of the amount released for consumption , equal to 1 million 861 thousand tons in 2021. Of the total intercepted by public service operators in the over 7 thousand 500 affiliated municipalities (96%), 684 thousand 615tons launched to new life, while if we also consider the data on packaging managed by independent operators and coming from the industrial and commercial circuits, equal to more than 300 thousand tons, the figure rises to over one million tons .
A recycling rate of 54.9%, with a significant increase compared to the 49.2% recorded in 2020, to which, explains the consortium, “the confluence of several interdependent factors contributed : among the main ones, the resumption of activities after the lockdown, the increase in the prices of virgin polymers , the difficulties of international trade linked to the freight crisis, production redirections in view of the entry into force of the SUP directive and the Plastic Tax “. A result that at first glance would seem to place Italy in line with the European target of 50% recycling of plastic packaging to be achieved by 2025 , but the conditional is a must. In fact, starting from this year, the new one will be appliedharmonized calculation method introduced by the EU, more severe than that adopted by Italy up to now, but given that “the detailed methods for calculating the new objective have not yet been uniquely defined at European level” explains Corepla, recycling “are reported in continuity with what was done in previous years”. According to the consortium’s estimates, the application of the new calculation method could cut recycling percentages by as much as ten points .
Also because not everything collected separately from citizens is then sent for material recovery. Of the total managed by Corepla, in fact, only a share of just under 60% found space in the recycling channels. The rest, made up of foreign fractions (125 thousand tons) or mixed plastic packaging (425 thousand tons), ended up in energy recovery and, to a lesser extent, in landfills . To weigh above all is the so-called plasmix , a mixture of heterogeneous plastic packaging for which in fact today there is no recycling market. 314 thousand 964 tons, explains Corepla,85.8% were used to produce energy instead of fossil fuels and destined for cement factories (47.3% in Italy and 38.5% abroad) and for the remaining 14.2 to efficient waste-to-energy plants. Another 110 thousand tons ended up in landfills .
In short, despite the significant increase in differentiated and recycling, there is still a long way to go. The numbers of Corepla, however, justify a cautious optimism, given that compared to 2020 the quantities sent for disposal or energy recovery are down by over 110 thousand tons . A sign “that the road is the right one – continued President Quagliuolo – now, however, a further effort on the part of everyone is required to maintain the excellence we have achieved in terms of the percentage of separate collection of plastic packaging and recycling. . We will continue to make our expertise and experience available to the country to build tomorrow’s ambitious goals on today’s goals “.
