Italy recycled 10.97 million tonnes of packaging in 2025, reaching 77.3% of the 14.2 million tonnes placed on the market, according to data released by the national packaging consortium Conai. Including energy recovery, 86.6% of used packaging was diverted from landfill.
Paper and cardboard led by material at 92.6%, followed by steel at 82.2% and glass above 82%. Wood reached 69.7%, aluminium 69.5%, and plastic 50.5% — the latter comprising 1.16 million tonnes of conventional plastic and over 44,000 tonnes of compostable bioplastic. Reusable packaging declared to the consortium rose by more than 100,000 tonnes from 2024 to nearly 1.36 million tonnes.
Conai paid Italian municipalities 892 million euros for separated packaging collection, with over 7,500 municipalities participating and 98% of the population covered. End-of-life packaging conferred by municipalities increased roughly 11% across all regions compared with 2024.