In September 2020, the Legislative Decree n.116 of 3 September 2020 was published in the Official Journal, in relation to the labeling of packaging.

The main provisions introduced by the Legislative Decree are:

1. For the purposes of packaging waste management, all packaging must be appropriately labeled according to the procedures established by the applicable UNI technical standards and in compliance with the determinations adopted by the Commission of the European Union, to facilitate collection, reuse, recovery and packaging recycling, as well as to provide consumers with correct information on the final destinations of packaging.
2. Manufacturers are also obliged to indicate, for the purposes of identification and classification of the packaging, the nature of the packaging materials used, on the basis of Commission Decision 97/29 / EC.

Under the new provisions, all packaging must have adopted, starting from 26 September 2020, contents of the environmental labeling, which are distinguished according to the intended use of the packaging itself.

For packaging intended for the final consumer it is mandatory to report on the label:

• the alphanumeric identification code of the material (as per Decision 129/97 / EC) mandatory for all manually separable components of the packaging system;
• information to support the final consumer in the correct collection of packaging

On a voluntary basis, it is always possible and advisable to enter additional information to increase the quality of separate collection

For packaging intended to remain within the industrial sector, it is mandatory to report on the label:

• the alphanumeric identification code of the material (as per Decision 129/97 / EC) mandatory for all manually separable components of the packaging system.