COMPANIES
COMPANIES
CONAI EPR Fee modulation is a structural tool designed to encourage the prevention of packaging‑waste generation and to promote ever-higher levels of reusability and recyclability of packaging. As early as 2012, certain benefits were introduced for reusable packaging used within controlled circuits that are particularly environmentally friendly.
In 2016, the CONAI Board of Directors approved the EPR Fee modulation project, which entered into force in 2018 for plastic packaging and in 2019 for paper packaging.
CONAI chose to begin EPR Fee modulation with the most complex material – plastic – due to the wide variety of packaging types and the diversity of sorting and recycling technologies. The aim is to encourage the use of more recyclable packaging by linking the level of the EPR Fee to the environmental impact of end‑of‑life and new‑life stages.
In 2025, the overall structure of the system remained unchanged, with the nine fee bands in force since 2023 confirmed, with values increasingly linked to the costs required to send the packaging types in each band to recycling. Although average auction prices had a positive effect on revenues, the unexpected increase in volumes handled by COREPLA throughout 2024 made it necessary to remodel the EPR Fee for plastic packaging, reflecting the chain deficit (the balance between costs and any revenues from sale to recycling).
Accordingly, from 1 July 2025, the EPR Fee changed as follows:
* In the first five months of 2025, auction values for these recycling streams were higher than expected. The chain deficit (affected by auction values) was therefore lower than the EPR Fee in force. This allowed the EPR Fee for band B1.2 packaging (transparent PET bottles, jars, flasks and pots) to be reduced for the July–December 2025 period, aligning it with the chain deficit expected for the second half of the year. From 1 January 2026 the value will return to €228/t. Quarterly monitoring is planned to assess possible further adjustments to the 2026 EPR Fee.
From 1 January 2026, the updated lists of plastic packaging came into force: certain packaging types are reallocated to more favourable fee bands, while it is specified that PVC packaging and accessories, as well as packaging containing carbon black that hinders sorting and recycling, must be classified in Band C.
For further information, please refer to the press releases, lists of plastic packaging, and click here for the historical timeline page.
For further information, see the Guida al Contributo Ambientale 2026 , which contains the requirements, procedures, examples and reference forms.
A summary (Abstract) of the Guide is also available: Guida al Contributo Ambientale 2026 - Abstract