Italy recycled 93.1% of its paper and cardboard packaging in 2025, putting the country well ahead of the European recycling target set for the end of the decade.

According to the 31st annual report from Italian paper and board recycling consortium Comieco, 4.61 million tonnes of almost five million tonnes of paper and cardboard packaging placed on the Italian market were recycled during the year.

The result is more than eight percentage points above the 85% European target for 2030 and comes as Italy’s separate collection of paper and cardboard approaches four million tonnes annually.

But behind the national recycling rate, the data reveals another challenge: collecting more fibre is no longer enough. Collection quality is becoming increasingly important to recycling economics.

Separate Collection Gains Another 60,000 Tonnes

Separate collection of paper and cardboard increased by more than 60,000 tonnes compared with 2024.

Across Italy, municipalities collected an average of 67.5 kilograms per inhabitant.

The improvement matters because recovered paper and cardboard represent an important secondary raw material for the country’s paper and packaging industry.

Greater collection can increase the amount of fibre available for recycling, but the usefulness of that material depends heavily on contamination levels.

Plastic bags and other non-paper materials entering collection streams need to be separated during processing. Higher contamination can therefore increase treatment requirements while reducing the usable fibre recovered from each tonne collected.

Italy’s latest figures show considerable differences between regions.

Southern Italy Passes 1 Million Tonnes

One of the most significant developments in 2025 came from southern Italy and the islands.

For the first time, these regions collected more than one million tonnes of paper and cardboard.

Around 60% of Italy’s overall increase in collection volume during the year came from the south and islands, while collection reached 52.5 kilograms per person.

Northern Italy remains the country’s largest collection region, however, recovering more than two million tonnes during 2025.

Average collection in the north reached 74.7 kilograms per inhabitant.

Emilia-Romagna recorded the highest regional figure at 99.8 kilograms per person.

Central Italy collected approximately 886,000 tonnes, equivalent to 75.7 kilograms per inhabitant.

These figures indicate that the geographical gap in collection volumes is gradually narrowing.

The quality gap remains considerably larger.

Contamination Becomes the Next Recycling Challenge

According to Comieco, only around half of the paper and cardboard collected in southern Italy achieves the first quality grade, defined as material containing less than 3% foreign matter.

In central and northern Italy, more than 80% of collected volumes meet that standard.

This distinction has practical consequences.

Recovered paper contaminated with plastics or other unwanted materials requires additional sorting and processing. Some of the collected weight consequently becomes reject material rather than usable fibre.

For municipalities, contamination can also affect the economic value of their collection.

Italy is now introducing stronger financial incentives intended to make that connection more visible.

Cleaner Paper Collection Will Earn a Premium

A new technical appendix for paper under the ANCI-CONAI framework agreement introduces additional incentives for higher-quality collection.

Under the new structure, municipalities can receive higher remuneration when the recovered paper and cardboard they supply contains fewer contaminants.

A new premium category applies to kerbside collection containing less than 2% contaminants.

Material meeting this threshold can receive remuneration equal to 102.5% of the scheduled rate.

The mechanism effectively gives municipalities a financial reason to focus not only on how many tonnes they collect, but also on how clean those tonnes are.

Comieco specifically identifies plastic bags as one source of contamination that can create additional processing costs.

The principle is straightforward:

Higher collection volume increases available recovered fibre. Higher collection quality increases the amount that can be efficiently returned to papermaking.

As collection systems mature, the second part of that equation becomes increasingly important.

€300 Million Supports Collection and Processing

Comieco’s system covered a large majority of the Italian population in 2025.

There were 944 active agreements, covering approximately 92% of municipalities and 96.8% of the population.

More than 2.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard were managed through these agreements.

Comieco paid local authorities more than €240 million for collection during the year.

Another €60 million was spent on processing collected material.

Combined, this represents more than €300 million directed toward collection and subsequent treatment.

The scale demonstrates that paper packaging circularity depends on more than whether the material itself is technically recyclable.

Collection infrastructure, sorting behaviour, contamination control, municipal economics and recycling capacity all influence whether fibre actually returns to production.

Italy Is Already Beyond the 2030 Recycling Target

A 93.1% recycling rate places Italy comfortably above the 85% target for paper and cardboard packaging in 2030.

That changes the nature of the challenge.

When recycling rates are comparatively low, increasing collection volume is an obvious priority. Once collection and recycling reach high levels, further progress increasingly depends on recovering cleaner material and reducing losses inside the recycling system.

Comieco therefore identifies collection quality as one of the important areas for further improvement.

There may still be opportunities to recover additional paper and cardboard from emerging consumption and distribution channels, but simply adding tonnes will not deliver the full benefit if contamination increases at the same time.

Italy’s 2025 results consequently illustrate the next stage of a mature paper recycling system.

The country has already surpassed its future recycling-rate target.

The question now is increasingly about how much usable fibre can be recovered from what consumers and businesses put into the collection system — and how efficiently that fibre can return to new paper and cardboard production.

Last Updated on 24/08/2026 by Jota Machinery