Italian Ban on Plastic Bags

On January 1, 2011 Italian legislation banning the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags, entered into force. This ban has entered into force based on a communication of the Ministry for Environment. The Minister, Ms. Stefania Prestigiacomo, confirmed entry into force of the ban on 01/01/2011 and, in addition, she allows stores and supermarkets to use up their current stocks of plastic bags provided that they give them out free of charge. The Minister also goes on to say that the Italian authorities will strictly control the ban and ensure it is respected.

“This law demonstrates that the Italian government is in breach of EU legislation and in particular that of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (1994/62/EC) as there is not sufficient scientific reasoning behind it,” says Alexandre Dangis, Managing Director EuPC.

“This initiative of the Italian National government is a short-sighted view which does not take into account the existence of EU legislation and the fact that traditional plastic packaging is recyclable and reusable.”

“We have lodged a complaint against this ban with the European Commission and we shall make every effort to challenge this legislation from a legal point of view,” Dangis went on to say.

For more information, contact Renata Surowiec, European Plastics Converters, Avenue de Cortenbergh 71, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, 32 (0) 2 732 41 24, Fax: 32 (0) 2 732 42 18, E-mail: renata.surowiec@eupc.org, Web: www.plasticsconverters.eu.