Who can join
Obliged parties
According to existing legislation (Article 221 of Legislative Decree No 152/2006), manufacturing and user companies are responsible for the proper and effective environmental management of any packaging and packaging waste produced by the consumption of their products and consequently they should join the National Packaging Consortium.
Producers shall mean: producers and importers of raw materials used in packaging, producers/processors and importers of semi-finished products used in packaging, producers of empty packaging and importers/sellers of empty packaging.
Users shall mean: any buyers/fillers of empty packaging, importers of “full packaging” (i.e. of packaged goods), self-producers (who produce/repair packaging to package their own goods), retailers of full packaging (buyers/sellers of packaged goods), and retailers of empty packaging (who purchase this packaging in Italy and resell it without any extra processing).
The same Article 221 requires that Producers join one of the Industry Consortiums (pursuant to Article 223 of the same Decree). Alternatively, Producers may “independently or collectively organise the management of their own packaging waste” or “put a return system in place for their own packaging […]”.
Penalties for not joining
The Provinces are responsible for checking any failure to join CONAI or the Industry Consortiums and for collecting any administrative fines.
Article 261, paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree No 152/06 states that “[…] Producers and Users who do not comply (…) shall be punished with an administrative fine of 5,000 Euros, without prejudice to their obligation to pay any past Contributions due”. Nevertheless, CONAI must be paid the membership fee and any past contributions due.
The same Article, paragraph 2, states that “packaging producers who (…) do not join the Consortiums (…) shall be punished with an administrative fine between fifteen thousand five hundred Euros and forty-six thousand five hundred Euros”.
For further information please see Guide to CONAI membership and EPR fee application