Today, the Vice President for Environment, Culture and Sustainability, Katia Da Ros, spoke at a hearing before the VIII Environment Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on the draft legislative decree no. 116 of 3 September 2020, implementing EU Directive 2018/851, in on waste, packaging and the circular economy.

In the transformation process undertaken by companies in the field of sustainability, the key to success lies in having managed to combine the achievement of ambitious environmental objectives with industrial investments that have also increased the level of competitiveness, independence and security of our country. These performances of Italian companies in the field of circular economy are even more strategic in the current geopolitical context, characterised by deep criticalities arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which are also affecting the availability and cost of raw materials.

Italy is a leading country in the circular economy, in fact it ranks among the first in Europe and in the world for the rate of circular use of materials - at 19.3% against a European average of 11.9%. Moreover, our industry recycles a record 83.4% of the materials used, far exceeding the European average of 53.8% (GreenItaly data). We recycle 73% of packaging waste (CONAI data), reaching the European target of 70% by 2030 nine years ahead of schedule.

The corrective decree* under review provides several clarifications that go in the right direction of aligning our legal system with the European one, largely giving certainty and clear guidelines to operators. However, we draw attention to two critical aspects:

• the amendments on the deposit and reuse of packaging (Art. 219-bis);
• the change in the regulation of waste classification and the effects of this on the scope of application of TARI, i.e. the waste tax.

Just these days the regulation of the reuse system for specific types of packaging is at the centre of a wide debate in Europe. The European Commission, in fact, presented the EU packaging reform yesterday. In this regard, we had the opportunity to view the proposal, which is creating enormous concern in all industrial sectors concernedat national and European level, for the potentially serious economic, social and environmental consequences that would result.

Confindustria believes that with regard to deposit systems and the reuse of packaging it is first of all necessary to focus on the New Action Plan for the EU Circular Economy, stemming from the European Green Deal, before modifying our regulations.

The way it is conceived, the EU proposal risks damaging numerous strategic sectors in the Italian and European economic fabricPackaging manufacturers and their raw material suppliers would certainly be affected, but also industrial users of packaging, manufacturers of packaging and packaging machinery, e-commerce logistics, packaging recyclers, large-scale retailers, the catering trade and many other sectors.

There are many critical issues. The EU Commission's proposal, in fact, devotes ample space to the topic of reuse and the elimination of certain sustainable products that we in Italy make and recycle, on which we have expressed serious concerns, confirmed by the absence of environmental impact and economic feasibility and sustainability assessments.

We consider it a priority for our country to follow the work at EU level to ensure that the Commission's highly critical approach can be overcome.

On the basis of these considerations, we therefore believe, important not to expose our country and our companies to runaways which seem, among other things, to disregard the principles governing the European single market, which must necessarily be based on harmonised rules.

We also consider it necessary to make all those corrections to Article 219-encore of the Environment Code, which regulates the storage and reuse of packaging, only once the new EU regulatory framework has been defined, avoiding further intervention in the rule, which will necessarily have to be revised once the new EU rules have been redefined.

TARI

Concerning changes in waste classification and effects on the scope of TARI, the proposed changes would have the effect of generating confusion and lead to distorted readings that would risk burdening companies again after years and years of litigation, imposing on them a double costi.e. that of the TARI itself on industrial sheds and warehouses (for a service they do not receive) and that borne for using the service provided by other companies authorised to manage their waste, as the European legislator wants, according to a model that makes us European leaders in terms of industrial waste recycling.

In our view, therefore, the current version of the rules on industrial waste and TARI should be maintained, without making any changes, so as not to unfairly burden companies with tax burdens that would only drain resources for investment and innovation in the green direction. It is necessary to maintain a clear focus on alignment with EU regulations, tax justice and the removal of improper burdens and costs for Italian companies.

* With this document, Confindustria intends to submit to the Parliament its observations on the Draft Legislative Decree containing supplementary and corrective provisions to Legislative Decree No. 116 of 3 September 2020 transposing Directive (EU) 2018/851, amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, and Directive (EU) 2018/852 amending Directive 1994/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, submitted to the Chambers for their opinion last 23 September.