2026.06.05
Italy's Recycling Crisis: Bale Collection Stops, Sorting Centres Approach Capacity Limits
Major Italian recyclers have stopped collecting bales from sorting centres • Sorting centres risk reaching maximum storage capacity and halting acceptance of mixed plastic waste • Industry association Assorimap is calling for urgent measures, including bringing forward mandatory recycled content requirements to 2027 • Italy's €450/tonne single-use plastics tax has been postponed for the eighth time, now to January 2027 • High energy costs and competition from non-EU imports of virgin and recycled plastic