The business club reported on January 26 that the Italian plastic processor trade association Unionplast is escalating its campaign against the government’s new ban on non-biodegradable shopping bags. At the same time, proponents of oxygen-degrading plastics have sent letters to the Italian government proposing to the decision made last week that "oxygen-degradable plastics should not be regarded as biodegradable materials."
Late last week, the Italian Plastics Federation published a full-page advertisement in the Italian business newspaper “IlSole24Oreâ€, stating that the ban imposed on January 1st had caused damage to the domestic plastics industry. According to the advertisement, many film and plastic bag manufacturers are unable to obtain biodegradable plastics, and existing polyethylene bag stocks are banned from selling, causing them to fall into a dilemma.
The federation's Enrico Chialchia told PRW that Italy has been basically self-sufficient in plastic bags so far. In the estimated total domestic consumption of more than 220,000 tons/year, imported plastic bags account for only about 10%. According to his estimates, there are about 250 companies in the Italian plastics industry, with about 5,000 practitioners, most of whom are located in the southern region with the highest unemployment rate in the country. He said that due to the ban, many of these companies had to cut back their staff or have already stopped working.
The Italian Plastics Federation endeavoured to call for the government to rethink the ban. They pointed out that, apart from other unfavorable factors, the ban is no different from the Italian plastic regeneration campaign. The Federation has been actively promoting the use of recycled ingredients in plastic bags. The group also pointed out that many Italians have already developed the habit of using polyethylene bags, including using them as containers for household plastic packaging.
The Italian Plastics Federation’s call to strengthen plastics regeneration has always been supported by the Italian regenerative association CARPI. CARPI believes that biodegradable plastics will not only interfere with recycling operations due to compatibility issues, but will also hamper composting. According to CARPI, bioplastics may not be able to degrade quickly like other organic wastes.
Chialchia said that since the new ban has incurred many legalities, the European Commission has begun a preliminary investigation of the matter and may launch a full investigation in the coming weeks. Many groups have stated that the ban violates the provisions of the Pan-European law on free trade. In addition, they also pointed out that there are non-compliances in the procedural ban. However, Chialchia believes that the Italian government will argue on merit. The Italian Plastics Federation met with the representatives of the Ministry of the Environment last Friday but ended up with no compromise.
At the same time, as a response to the clarification requests made by the environmental protection organization Legambiente and the biopolymer producer Novamont, the Italian Competition Bureau made a ruling in the last week that due to the additives contained in the polyethylene, it was undergoing oxidation. Since it is decomposed, it cannot be considered as biodegradable and it must not be used in shopping bags. After this ruling was announced, representatives of the oxygen degradation industry had already sent letters to the government ministers responsible for environmental and economic development and urged them to veto this ruling.
Late last week, the Italian Plastics Federation published a full-page advertisement in the Italian business newspaper “IlSole24Oreâ€, stating that the ban imposed on January 1st had caused damage to the domestic plastics industry. According to the advertisement, many film and plastic bag manufacturers are unable to obtain biodegradable plastics, and existing polyethylene bag stocks are banned from selling, causing them to fall into a dilemma.
The federation's Enrico Chialchia told PRW that Italy has been basically self-sufficient in plastic bags so far. In the estimated total domestic consumption of more than 220,000 tons/year, imported plastic bags account for only about 10%. According to his estimates, there are about 250 companies in the Italian plastics industry, with about 5,000 practitioners, most of whom are located in the southern region with the highest unemployment rate in the country. He said that due to the ban, many of these companies had to cut back their staff or have already stopped working.
The Italian Plastics Federation endeavoured to call for the government to rethink the ban. They pointed out that, apart from other unfavorable factors, the ban is no different from the Italian plastic regeneration campaign. The Federation has been actively promoting the use of recycled ingredients in plastic bags. The group also pointed out that many Italians have already developed the habit of using polyethylene bags, including using them as containers for household plastic packaging.
The Italian Plastics Federation’s call to strengthen plastics regeneration has always been supported by the Italian regenerative association CARPI. CARPI believes that biodegradable plastics will not only interfere with recycling operations due to compatibility issues, but will also hamper composting. According to CARPI, bioplastics may not be able to degrade quickly like other organic wastes.
Chialchia said that since the new ban has incurred many legalities, the European Commission has begun a preliminary investigation of the matter and may launch a full investigation in the coming weeks. Many groups have stated that the ban violates the provisions of the Pan-European law on free trade. In addition, they also pointed out that there are non-compliances in the procedural ban. However, Chialchia believes that the Italian government will argue on merit. The Italian Plastics Federation met with the representatives of the Ministry of the Environment last Friday but ended up with no compromise.
At the same time, as a response to the clarification requests made by the environmental protection organization Legambiente and the biopolymer producer Novamont, the Italian Competition Bureau made a ruling in the last week that due to the additives contained in the polyethylene, it was undergoing oxidation. Since it is decomposed, it cannot be considered as biodegradable and it must not be used in shopping bags. After this ruling was announced, representatives of the oxygen degradation industry had already sent letters to the government ministers responsible for environmental and economic development and urged them to veto this ruling.