The measure introduces a compostability requirement for specific categories of packaging into the Environmental Code and implements the proposed Italian technical regulation under the PPWR. Catia Bastioli, President of SPRING: “Regulatory certainty is an essential condition for enabling companies to invest and generate value.”
At its meeting on August 4, 2026, the Council of Ministers approved the decree-law that introduces a compostability requirement for specific categories of packaging into the Environmental Code.
The measure implements the proposed technical regulation submitted by Italy to define the biodegradability and compostability requirements applicable to certain single-use plastic packaging, within the framework of the European Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWR). The decree will take effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
“We warmly welcome this measure, which establishes a clear regulatory framework and is a necessary condition for investments in innovation to fully realize their potential,”said Catia Bastioli, President of SPRING, the Italian Circular Bioeconomy Cluster.
According to Bastioli, regulatory certainty is a key factor in enabling businesses to plan new investments, develop innovative supply chains, and generate value in the local area. Furthermore, the measure is the result of a constructive dialogue with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), which has made it possible to combine European packaging reduction goals with concrete opportunities for industrial innovation.
In fact, the new measure makes it possible to transform one of the flexibility options provided for under the European framework into a development opportunity for production chains, infrastructure dedicated to organic recycling, and the circular bioeconomy.
“The challenge now is to use this space for experimentation to accelerate innovation, investment, and industrial restructuring, demonstrating that sustainability and competitiveness can grow together in our regions,”concludes Bastioli.