EOW decree for paper and cardboard
Excellent prospects with the entry into force of the EOW decree for paper and cardboard.
Since the end of August, Decree 188/2020 has come into force regarding the EOW (End of Waste) classification for paper and cardboard from separate waste collection. For these materials, therefore, the qualification of “waste” ceases, eliminating a whole series of regulatory obligations and thus effectively facilitating the recycling and enhancement of cellulosic waste.
To this end, a permanent Observatory has also been set up in which they participate:
– Comieco;
– Unirima;
– Assocarta.
The Observatory has carried out synergistic work that has already shown its fruits in the 6 months of transitional regime from the publication of the decree. In fact, in this period 97% of the monitored companies have adapted according to the deadlines set by the decree, by 23 August 2021.
Carlo Montalbetti, Comieco General Manager, enthusiastically comments on what is happening in Italy: “We wanted to support and accompany the recovery plants on this path, a further demonstration of the efficiency of the entire paper supply chain which is confirmed as national and international excellence, just think that it has achieved and exceeded the recycling targets set by the EU 10 years in advance and which, in 2020 alone, recovered and recycled almost 3.5 tons of paper and cardboard, which only represents the fraction coming from the urban cycle.”
Currently the percentage of recycling in paper packaging in Italy is around 87%, reported Massimo Medugno, General Manager of Assocarta.
It should also be noted that the adaptation of production processes carried out following the EOW decree has led many plants to jointly request ISO 9001 certification, further confirming the virtuous mechanism triggered by this fundamental paradigm shift. The paper recovery sector in fact represents a driving sector for the implementation of the circular economy, and a strategic resource for our country.
Source: www.convertingmagazine.it
