The crisis of plastic recycling has led to an increase in the costs for managing special waste. The data presented in the Assoambiente report, which was held during the Ecomondo fair on November 6, 2026 at 11:43, indicate that Italy continues to maintain a high recycling rate, surpassing 21%. This result is due to the growth in the production of special waste, but also to the still significant use of residual disposal and limited energy recovery.

However, the crisis of plastic recycling has led to a significant increase in the costs of managing special waste. This problem is connected with some structural weaknesses, such as the growth in the production of special waste, the still significant use of residual disposal, and the limited energy recovery. Moreover, over 6 million tons of waste are exported annually, highlighting the dependence on foreign raw materials.

This phenomenon is mainly due to the crisis of plastic recycling, which has made it necessary to export these materials to solve management problems. The costs of managing special waste have reached on average €340 per household annually and exceed comprehensively €20 billion for enterprises. This increase is due to the growing production of special waste, to the inadequate energy recovery, and to the lack of alternative solutions.

The crisis of plastic recycling has had negative consequences also on circular areas. Companies operating in urban sanitation, recycling, recovery, circular economy, waste disposal, and sewage treatment have seen a decrease in their ability to manage effectively the special waste. Italy remains virtuous in the circular economy, but faces challenges.

The data show that the Italian economy uses 777 million tons of materials, a volume that has remained essentially stable over the last decade. However, these statistics should be considered as a starting point to tackle the problem of plastic recycling and find alternative solutions to resolve the problems of managing special waste.