Environmental Labelling for Packaging in Italy
Italy requires environmental labelling on all packaging: material identification coding on every component, plus disposal instructions where the packaging reaches a household consumer. We set out exactly what your pack has to carry.
What Italy requires on your packaging
Legal basis: Legislative Decree 116/2020, amending the Environmental Code (D.Lgs 152/2006). Italy splits the obligation in two. Material identification coding applies to all packaging; consumer disposal instructions apply on top of that for household packaging. Brands routinely do the first and miss the second.
Material identification
Alphanumeric coding per Decision 97/129/EC on each component — PET 1, PP 5, C/PAP 81 and so on.
Disposal instructions
For household packaging: which collection stream each component belongs to, in a form the Italian consumer can act on.
CONAI participation
Producer obligations under the national packaging consortium system, including declarations.
Italian language
Consumer-facing disposal information must be given in Italian.
What the Italy guide contains
- A component-by-component breakdown: outer carton, primary container, closure or pump, label, leaflet.
- The exact marking required on each component, and the conditions attached to using it.
- The precise wording of any sorting or disposal statement, in Italian.
- Placement and legibility requirements where the national rules specify them.
- The registration and reporting duties that sit alongside the marking.
Common mistakes with Italy packaging rules
- Applying material codes to the bottle but not to the cap, pump, label or outer carton — each is a separate component with its own code.
- Adding the material code and stopping there, when household packaging also needs consumer disposal instructions.
- Using the supplier’s generic recycling symbol instead of the coding required by Decision 97/129/EC.
- Giving disposal information only in English on packaging intended for Italian consumers.
- Assuming a Green Dot mark satisfies the Italian environmental labelling requirement. It does not.
Environmental labelling in the rest of Europe
The same service covers six markets. Each one has its own rules, so each one has its own guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Italian environmental labelling apply to all packaging or only consumer packaging?
Material identification coding applies to packaging generally. The additional consumer disposal instructions apply to packaging that reaches a household consumer — which is most cosmetic retail packaging.
Do I need to be a CONAI member?
Producer obligations under the consortium system generally apply to businesses placing packaging on the Italian market. The guide identifies what applies to your situation and points you to the right registration.
Can I use a QR code for the disposal instructions?
Digital delivery of part of the information is accepted in defined circumstances, but the material identification coding itself is expected on the component. We tell you what can be moved off-pack and what cannot.
Get your Italy packaging right before you print
A written compliance guide for €40, covering every component of your pack. Guidance only — no graphic design.