Italy’s Plastic Collection Grows as Recycling Capacity and Demand Fall Behind

Collection outpaces recycling outlets

Italy’s plastic recycling chain is under mounting pressure as separately collected volumes grow faster than treatment capacity and demand for recovered material. Difesa del Popolo reports that collection and sorting centres in several areas are approaching their authorised storage limits because material is not moving regularly enough to recycling plants. The problem is particularly visible in Veneto, but industry representatives describe it as a national and European challenge.

According to Corepla, Italy’s national consortium for plastic packaging collection, recycling and recovery, municipal separate collection reached 1.3 million tonnes of plastic packaging in 2025, an increase of 3.75% from 2024. Veneto collected just under 31 kilograms per resident, compared with the national average of 27 kilograms. More than 50% of collected plastic was effectively recycled in 2025, while most of the remainder went to energy recovery; landfill represented only a residual destination.

Virgin resin undercuts recovered material

Paolo Monesi of Plastic Free Onlus said the bottleneck has formed near the end of the chain, where recyclers struggle to find buyers for secondary raw material. Production and use of plastic continue to rise, while recycled resin remains unattractive to many companies because of its price gap with virgin plastic. The result is material accumulating at treatment and storage facilities despite consumers placing it in separate collection systems.

Corepla president Giorgio Quagliuolo described the situation as a structural “perfect storm”. He cited falling virgin-plastic prices linked to oil markets, imports of low-priced recycled material of uncertain origin, higher energy costs for recycling and insufficient domestic demand for secondary raw materials. Across Europe, 45 recycling plants have closed in the past three years. Quagliuolo said the closures reflect the difficulty of making recycling economically sustainable rather than an abandonment of recycling policy.

Veneto deploys emergency storage measures

Veneto environment councillor Elisa Venturini said the regional government has convened coordination meetings with operators and industry consortia, authorised exceptional storage derogations and established secure deposits to prevent interruptions to separate collection. These measures are intended as a temporary buffer until the market can absorb collected volumes, without opening new permanent sites. On 19 August, the regional government also approved a resolution renewing coordination groups for by-products and End of Waste materials, extending participation to Veneto universities and trade associations.

Longer-term proposals include reducing unnecessary packaging, expanding reusable alternatives and designing products that can be recycled more easily and incorporate recovered resin. Plastic Free Onlus also called for policies that make recycled plastic more competitive with virgin material. Corepla is working with sorters, recyclers and recovery operators to relieve storage pressure, broaden its recycling network and identify new markets, including in OECD countries. For producers and converters, the central issue is whether regulation, technology and procurement commitments can create stable demand for recovered plastic while collection volumes continue to rise.