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Rimini, 27th October 2023 . What is on show at Ecomondo (Rimini Expo Centre, 7th . 10th November 2023) is an Italy that performs well on the waste circularity front, despite the fact that the European framework suggests the need for a mutual acceleration, also in view of the misalignment between growth and resource consumption. Global figures, in this respect, speak for themselves: between 2018 and 2020, the circularity rate dropped from 9.1% to 8.6%. In the last five years, consumption has grown by more than 8% (exceeding 100 billion tonnes of raw material used in one year), while reuse has increased by only 3% (from 8.4 to 8.65 billion tonnes).

PACKAGING WASTE IN 2022
According to data from CONAI . National Packaging Consortium, in 2022, out of 14.5 million tonnes of packaging released for consumption, 10.4 million tonnes were given a second life, equal to 71.5% of packaging waste in Italy. Italy has therefore already reached the overall recycling targets that Europe has asked of its states by 2025, when each country should recycle at least 65% of packaging each year, and by 2030, when the bar will be raised to 70%. The figures for 2022 confirm that Italy is one of the EU states that recycles the most and at a lower cost. The quantities of recycled material and those released for consumption remain substantially stable compared to 2021. In the first half of last year, there was a considerable increase in input and recycling activities, while the second half underwent a slowdown, mainly due to the contraction of industrial production in the main economies.

RECOVERY MATERIALS AND NETWORKS
As regards individual packaging categories in 2022, the materials sent for recycling compared to the total released for consumption were, in order, steel (418,000 tonnes), aluminium (60,000 tonnes), paper (4,311,000 tonnes), wood (2,147,000), plastic and bioplastics (1,122,000 tonnes) and glass (2,293,000 tonnes). If we add to the recycling figures those of energy recovery, the total amount of packaging recovered rises to 11.7 million, equal to 80.5% of the amount released for consumption. The almost 10.5 million tonnes of packaging actually recycled is a result achieved to the amount of 47% by the CONAI system´s supply chain, 51% by independent operators and the remaining 2% by independent systems.

TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION
As for the different areas of the country, again in 2022, separate packaging waste collection in the south of Italy was slower than in the northern regions, demonstrating a certain difficulty in reaching qualitative-quantitative standards. For this reason, an ANCI-CONAI framework agreement was drawn up to accelerate the achievement of separate collection targets and close the gap between the most virtuous regions and those lagging behind. In the two-year period 2021/2022, territorial projects for the development of quality separate waste collection in Central and Southern Italy involved 18.7 million inhabitants, of which 4.9 million in Campania and 4.8 million in Sicily.

PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION
At the macro level, according to the Fourth National Report on the Circular Economy in reference to 2022, compiled by CEN (Circular Economy Network), the network promoted by the Sustainable Development Foundation together with a group of companies and business associations in collaboration with ENEA, the circularity rate in the world economy has decreased, falling from 9.1% to 7.2% in the last five years. Among the top five economies in the EU, Italy is the most circular country, although it has been losing positions over the last five years while other states, such as Spain, have accelerated. The rate of circular material use in Italy (18.4), was still higher than the EU average (11.7%) in 2021 - the latest available data . but, compared to 2020, the figure is decreasing (20.6%).

ABOUT ECOMONDO 2023
Event: International trade show; Organizer: Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A.; Frequency: annual; Edition: 26th; Dates: 7-10 November; mail: ecomondo@iegexpo.it; Website: www.ecomondo.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/EcomondoRimini; Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ecomondo; LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecomondo-the-green-technologies-expo/


PRESS CONTACT IEG
Head of media relation & corporate communication: Elisabetta Vitali; press office manager: Marco Forcellini; international press office coordinator: Silvia Giorgi; media@iegexpo.it

MEDIA AGENCY: MY PR Lab
Filippo Nani, filippo.nani@myprlab.it; Enrico Bellinelli, enrico.bellinelli@myprlab.it; mob. +39 392 7480967; Francesca Magnanini, Francesca.magnanini@myprlab.it; mob. +39 338 6910347; Giulia Lucchini, giulia.lucchini@myprlab.it, mob. +39 348 7853679

This press release contains forecast elements and estimates that reflect the management´s current opinions (´forward-looking statements´), particularly regarding future management performance, realization of investments, cash flow trends and the evolution of the financial structure. For their very nature, forward-looking statements have a component of risk and uncertainty, as they depend on the occurrence of future events. The effective results may differ (even significantly) from those announced, due to numerous factors, including, only by way of example: food service market and tourist flow trends in Italy, gold and jewellery market trends, green economy market trends; the evolution of raw material prices; general macroeconomic conditions; geopolitical factors and evolutions in the legislative framework. Moreover, the information contained in this release does not claim to be complete, and has not been verified by independent third parties. Forecasts, estimates and objectives contained herein are based on the information available to the Company as at the date of this release.