Environmental labelling: standards and uses

What is the environmental label?

Environmental labelling is to identify all packaging placed on the Italian market, to indicate its composition, to facilitate its collection, reuse, recovery, recycling and proper disposal by the consumer.

Legislative Decree No. 116 of 3 September 2020 stipulates that all packaging must be ‘appropriately labelled in accordance with the methods established by the applicable UNI technical standards and in compliance with the determinations adopted by the Commission of the European Union’.

‘Appropriately labelled’ means in the form and manner that the company deems most effective to achieve the stated objective.

Where can the environmental label be placed?

The labelling may be placed in one or more of the following ways:

• Directly on the packaging
• Via digital channels (Apps, Qr codes, websites)
• On transport documents or other documents accompanying the goods (these documents may in turn refer to digital channels)
• On instruction booklets or user manuals
• On information panels at the point of sale

Since when is the environmental label mandatory?

Unless further extended, the environmental labelling obligation will come into force on 1 January 2023.

The provisions concerning theenvironmental labelling of packaging were introduced with the amendments to Art. 219 of Legislative Decree 152/06, brought about by the entry into force of Legislative Decree 116/2020, which transposed Directive (EU) 2018/851 on waste and EU Directive 2018/852 on packaging and packaging waste, the obligation for which will take effect precisely from 01/01/2023.

Mandatory environmental labelling was supposed to come into force in 2020, however, due to requests from market players for a transitional period to adapt to the novelty and the need to clarify certain interpretative doubts, the provision was subject to no fewer than four postponements.

The latest postponement was provided by Decree-Law No. 228 of 30 December 2021, the so-called ‘Milleproroghe’, converted with amendments by Law No. 15 of 25 February 2022, which provided for the suspension of the environmental labelling obligation for packaging until 31 December 2022, as well as the possibility for market players to market products without the new environmental labelling requirements that had already been placed on the market or already had a label on 1 January 2023.

In the interests of sustainability, it was stipulated that non-compliant packaging already placed on the market or labelled before 1/1/23 may be marketed until stocks are exhausted.

What are the differences between B2B and B2C?

Please note that the mandatory information that must be displayed on the environmental labelling of packaging differs depending on the intended use of the packaging:

• If the packaging is intended for the end consumer (B2C circuit), the information that must be mandatorily provided is as follows:
  • The alphanumeric identification coding of the material as per Decision 129/97/EC;
  • The information to support the end consumer in the correct collection of the packaging. The guidelines suggest either indicating the formula “Collection (prevailing material family by weight)“, or indicating the prevailing material family by weight, accompanied by the formula “Separate collection” and inviting the consumer to check the provisions of their municipality.
• If the packaging is destined for the B2B channel, the mandatory contents only concern the alphanumeric coding identifying the material according to Decision 129/97/EC, while additional information on collection is voluntary. In addition to the compulsory information, optional information may be included to support packaging recipients in the correct handling of packaging. The aim is to facilitate the collection, reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging as well as to provide consumers with correct information on its final destination.

How does the environmental label impact your business?

If you buy packaging for your company, this is the most important information to keep in mind:

• Please note that environmental labelling will come into effect on 1 January 2023, but, all packaging that you have already purchased and that was produced and not labelled before that date can be used while stocks last. You will not have to throw them away.
• For all your B2C shipments, you will have to indicate all materials that make up your packaging. For example, if you send a dish in a cardboard box and wrap it in plastic bubble wrap, you must indicate, in the manner you prefer (on an external label, on the delivery note, on your website or via electronic media, etc.) what the packaging consists of and how to dispose of it correctly.
• If you buy packaging from RAJA you will find the information on the material and correct disposal printed directly on the product, when possible, or alternatively on the outer packaging as well as on our website on the product page.
  For example, RAJA’s cardboard boxes are already correctly labelled for B2C shipments, in which case you will already have all the information present and visible directly on the box. Bubble wrap, on the other hand, like most filling materials or even stretch film and strapping, only has the environmental label on its outer packaging. In these cases, it will be your responsibility to indicate to your end customer the characteristics of bubble wrap as it does not have a visible environmental label. You could, for example, add the information inside the transport document or create a QR link to your website where you explain the packaging used and its characteristics.

• If a material (such as adhesive tape or a label) cannot be manually separated from the main body, it should not be identified

RAJA Italy and environmental labelling

Our packaging is already correctly labelled and shows the nature of the packaging material with the alphanumeric code in addition to the explicit description, by means of a print or label on the outer packaging (unless stock produced before 1 January 2023 is exhausted). For all packaging for which it is not possible to affix the label directly on the product or outer packaging, we have uploaded all information on our website.

The information on the packaging we use for shipping is as follows:

PALLETS: FOR40 (wood collection)

CARDBOARD INTERFALES: PAP20 (paper collection)

BOXES: PAP20 (paper collection)

EXTENSIBLE FILM: PELD04 (plastic collection)

FILLING PAPER: PAP22 (paper collection)

PLURIBALL: PELD04 (plastic collection)

CARDBOARD CORNERS: PAP20 (paper collection)

PALLET COVER SHEETS: PELD04 (plastic collection)

BAGS: PELD04 (plastic collection)

REGGIE: PP5 (plastic collection)

Remember to always check the regulations of your municipality.

For your company’s packaging, rely on an experienced packaging supplier who can guide you through this ecological transition!