Italy channels packaging EPR through CONAI, the national packaging consortium, working via material-specific consortia for steel, aluminium, paper, wood, plastic and glass. Producers and users of packaging join CONAI and pay the Contributo Ambientale CONAI (CAC), a per-tonne environmental contribution declared periodically. Italy also enforces its own environmental labelling rules, requiring material identification and disposal instructions on packaging sold to consumers.
By Kevin Kai Wong, Managing Partner, gCurv Technologies
Packgine automates Italy registration tracking, component-level data collection, fee calculation and deadline management alongside every other EU and US obligation.
Producers, importers and users of packaging join CONAI and are assigned to the relevant material consortia based on what they place on the market.
Declare packaging weight by material on the applicable periodic cycle, monthly, quarterly or annually depending on contribution size, and pay the per-tonne contribution.
Plastic packaging is split into bands by sortability and recyclability, so the same tonnage can carry very different rates depending on pack design.
Packaging must identify its material with the standard alphanumeric codes and, for consumer packaging, carry disposal instructions.
Italy runs its own scheme (CONAI and its material consortia), but the design rules layered on top are now EU-wide. From 12 August 2026 the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies directly in every member state, covering recyclability grades, recycled content minimums, empty space limits and harmonised labelling.
Compare per-tonne rates across schemes in the EU PRO fee schedule, review every market on the EU compliance hub, and check filing dates on the compliance calendar. If you also sell in the United States or the United Kingdom, see the US EPR hub and the UK compliance hub.
Confirm your role: producer, importer or user of packaging, since CONAI membership category follows that classification.
Map every packaging component to a CONAI material consortium and, for plastics, to the correct diversified band.
Set the declaration frequency that matches your contribution volume and automate the periodic filing.
Add Italian material codes and disposal instructions to artwork alongside other national labelling requirements.
Re-band plastic packs after any design change, because band movement is one of the fastest ways to reduce Italian cost.
It is normally paid by the first transfer of packaging on Italian territory, which in practice means the producer or importer of packaged goods, with the cost passed along the chain.
Declaration frequency depends on the size of your contribution: larger contributors declare monthly, smaller ones quarterly or annually.
Italy applies a diversified contribution to plastic, grouping packaging by how effectively it can be sorted and recycled. Easily sorted mono-material packs sit in the cheapest band, non-sortable composites in the most expensive.
Yes. Importers of packaged goods are liable for the contribution on the packaging that enters Italy with the product.
Content reviewed by Kevin Kai Wong, Managing Partner at gCurv Technologies
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