On June 11th at the Ripetta Residence in Rome,  Corepla, Conai, Assobioplastiche and Consorzio Italiano Compostatori (CIC) signed an agreement in front the Ministry of the Environment Gian Luca Galletti to enhance and improve biodegradable plastic packaging environment management.

This Agreement underlines the extraordinary versatility of plastic and of its cycle of life and shows to what extent the plastic compartment is committed to invest in quality. The higher the sorted collection will be, the higher the quantity of recycled material into new raw material and new economy.

The key points of the Agreement, valid for two years, include an amount of one and halft million euros per year that Corepla will make available to:

- Support Municipalities in their biodegradable and compostable plastic plans in the sorted collection of organic wastes

- Define the communication plans to give more replique tag heuer value to the proper development of the collection systems and to the treatment of these packagings in their organic part

- Make citizens, institutions and enterprises aware of the need of a better plastic biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging, in order to achieve a sustainable consumption of the resources, preventing waste production and increasing the sorting of quality waste collection

- Support monitor, research and experimentation activities inside the organic recycle production chain, also with regard to the existing plants and to the increased biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging conferment.

- Enforce University research activity by establishing and financing specific research projects

“Recovery, recycle, re-use – stated Gian Luca Galletti, Ministry of the Environment – are the cornerstones of a proper waste management and of the circular economy, the only one that will be possible in the future. Our Country may count on some excellences of the packaging recovery as this Agreement shows. It’s the signal that we are lifting quality and awareness in this field. Today, however,  in Italy there are still too many wastes that end up in the landfill. To overpass this limit in our environment management is one of the priority of our Government. We may reach the results that some other countries have achieved, zero waste to landfill. Corepla and the consortium packaging production chains are the first to help Italy to obtain this environment and civil goal that is also meant to help employment and development”.

Giorgio Quagliuolo, President of the Corepla Consortium, commented: “It’s in the plastic nature to have different shapes. But it’s the end of its life that makes the difference. Throughout the years, Corepla has achieved relevant performances recycling and collecting “traditional” plastic packaging. With this Agreement we are going to add an important new tool that will help citizens, public administration and enterprises for a real and effective recycle culture inside a growing circular economy”.

“This agreement is part of the promotion and sorted collection activity brought about by Conai/Corepla”, Roberto de Santis, Conai President added. “It will improve the quality of some packaging plastic wastes and it will reduce the biodegradable compost plastic contents. It will enhance research activity in this sector to progressively improve recycling and results”.

Alessandro Canovai, President of the Consorzio Italiano Compostatori remarked that “We are really satisfied of this agreement. This goal is just the beginning of a new virtuous path on an actual issue, the future of bioplastics and the reduction of the materials that are not in compliance with the compost system”. The search of efficient solutions for a correct treatment of the organic materials. inside a process of a continuous improvement of the organic production chains is the only possible way to a better Environment protection”.

According to Marco Versari, Assobioplastiche President, “Bioplastics industry represents a fundamental point in the European circular economy. It’s one of the most innovated sectors, able to create new employment and to design development systems of territorial regeneration that sey no to the refusal society and to the natural resources waste to go towards a zero waste Europe. Hanks to the agreement with Corepla, we will have at disposal some important resources to educate all the stakeholders (in progress companies, business owners, local administrations and citizens) about the respect of the Italian legislation that forbids to commercialize bags that are not biodegradable and suited for compost. As the research society Plastic Consult pointed out, more than half of the products in commerce are still out-law, with a big damage for the industrial production chain and for the businessmen. This agreement will allow to inform on the correct sorting between plastic and bioplastic, considering the fundamental role that this last one have in the organic waste collection. Food waste represent an important part of the EU wastes and bioplastic in compliance to the EN 13432 standard have proved to be strategic to assure a more efficient collection of the organic fraction