Italy takes the lead on compostable packaging
A quiet but significant regulatory move happened this month. Italy formally notified the European Commission of a draft national measure that would require certified compostable packaging for several key single-use applications starting 1 January 2030. The notification was filed through the TRIS system, the EU’s mechanism for flagging national technical regulations before they become law.
This is exactly the flexibility that the PPWR was designed to allow.
What Italy is actually proposing
The Italian measure targets single-use plastic packaging categories that would otherwise be banned under Annex V of the PPWR from 1 January 2030. The bar is clearly defined: these formats remain permitted, but only if they are biodegradable and compostable, certified by an accredited body in accordance with UNI EN 13432 or an equivalent European-recognised standard. The affected applications are:
- Single-use plastic packaging for pre-packed fresh fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg
- Single-use food and beverage packaging used and consumed on-site at restaurants and catering businesses
- Condiment sachets, portion packs, and flavouring packaging in the foodservice sector, with narrow exceptions for takeaway meals and medical care settings
- Single-use cosmetics and hygiene product packaging for hospitality accommodations, intended per individual booking and discarded before the next guest arrives
Why this matters beyond Italy
Without national action like this, the PPWR’s blanket ban means no more plastic nets for cherry tomatoes, no more sauce sachets on restaurant tables, and no more single-serve shampoos in hotel rooms, regardless of whether the material is compostable or not. Italy’s measure draws a clear line: the ban targets unnecessary single-use plastic, not certified compostable alternatives.
Italy is also well-positioned to make this argument stick. The country has one of the most developed industrial composting networks in Europe, which is precisely the infrastructure precondition the PPWR sets for Member States invoking this kind of national flexibility. It is worth noting that Italy used a similar national-first approach when it became one of the first EU countries to mandate compostable bags for loose fruit and vegetables in supermarkets, a measure that eventually influenced EU-wide direction. History does not guarantee a repeat, but the pattern is familiar to anyone who follows EU packaging policy closely.
What this means for you
The practical implications depend on where you sit in the supply chain.
If you are sourcing packaging for fresh produce under 1.5 kg, the Italian market is moving toward a mandatory compostability requirement by 2030. Packaging that cannot demonstrate EN 13432 certification will not be placeable on that market. For a retailer or grower selling tomatoes, strawberries, or salad mixes into Italian retail, the qualification process for certified compostable trays and nets needs to start now, not in 2028.
If you are supplying the foodservice sector, the same logic applies to sauce sachets and condiment packs. Think of the individual olive oil portion packs served at a trattoria, or the sugar sachets next to every espresso. These are high-volume, low-margin formats where switching materials requires lead time for testing, certification, and supplier qualification.
At Bio4Pack, we are already seeing this urgency translate into concrete requests. Customers who were evaluating certified compostable formats six months ago as a sustainability preference are now treating certification as a procurement requirement. The conversation has shifted.
The window is open, but not forever
The 2030 deadline sounds distant. It is not. EN 13432 certification, supplier qualification, and packaging line adaptation collectively take 18 to 24 months based on typical certification and sourcing timelines. If other Member States follow Italy’s lead and introduce comparable national measures, the market for uncertified single-use formats in these applications will shrink faster than the regulatory timeline suggests.
Should the European Commission skip the national detour entirely and make certified compostability the EU-wide standard for these applications? Or is this exactly the kind of member state experimentation that makes the PPWR flexible enough to work in practice?
