The European Commission has once again found itself at the centre of the debate over compostable plastics.
Earlier this year, Italy notified the European Commission of draft legislation that would preserve the use of certain biodegradable and compostable single-use packaging under the flexibility provided by Article 9(2)(b) of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
The proposal was submitted through the EU’s Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) under notification 2026/0167/IT. During the mandatory standstill period, the European Commission reviewed the draft and, on 7 July 2026, issued formal Comments (Message 303).
Interestingly, the Commission stopped short of issuing a Detailed Opinion—the mechanism normally used when Brussels considers that a national measure may breach EU law or create barriers to the internal market. Instead, it chose to submit non-binding comments, allowing the standstill period to expire and enabling Italy to continue its legislative process.
The text of the Commission’s comments has not been published on the TRIS portal. However, according to the Italian trade publication Polimerica, which reports having seen the Commission’s letter, Brussels questioned the compatibility of the Italian proposal with both the PPWR and the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
The obvious question is: why?
Italy has long been Europe’s leading supporter of compostable plastics, arguing that they have an important role in applications such as organic waste collection and certain food-contact packaging. The country’s proposal appears to be an attempt to make use of the flexibility explicitly provided for in the PPWR.
If that interpretation is correct, some in the industry may wonder why the Commission felt it necessary to intervene at all.
At this stage, there is no indication that the Commission has formally blocked the Italian proposal. On the contrary, the absence of a Detailed Opinion means that Italy was free to continue its legislative process after the standstill period ended.
Nevertheless, the Commission’s intervention is likely to fuel concerns among supporters of compostable plastics that Brussels is taking an increasingly restrictive approach to the sector.
Whether those concerns prove justified will ultimately depend on the final Italian legislation—and on how the Commission responds once that legislation is formally adopted.
Personal Remarks
To be fair, DG COMP has a valid point. Much of the EU still lacks the infrastructure needed to effectively collect and treat compostable plastic packaging at scale.
What makes the situation particularly ironic is that the apparent opposition appears to come from EU DG COMP. The European Commission truly works in mysterious ways.
Italy continues to champion compostable plastics as a cornerstone of its circular economy. Ironically, that enthusiasm could prove short-lived if future studies conclude that Italy’s food chain has a significant microplastics contamination problem. If that happens, today’s environmental success story may become tomorrow’s public health debate.
Sources
- European Commission – Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS), Notification 2026/0167/IT: https://technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notification/27798
- Polimerica – Report on the European Commission’s comments regarding the Italian proposal: https://polimerica.it/articolo.asp?id=36231