Milan, 23 September 2019 – The Lombardy Region has issued a circular to address the ongoing emergency facing approximately 120 local waste recovery and recycling companies, which are at risk of having their current permits revoked. This intervention was strongly urged by Confindustria Lombardia, given the negative impact not only on the competitiveness of the Lombardy recovery sector but also on the entire supply chain, due to the foreseeable increase in disposal costs for manufacturing companies operating within the affected industries. Furthermore, this scenario would favour those operating irregularly, fueling illicit activities, with consequences for the entire community.

These are the collateral effects of an amendment included in the ‘Sblocca Cantieri’ (Unblock Construction Sites) law, against which businesses, local institutions, and business and environmental associations have been fighting for months. This follows the realisation that the regulatory confusion resulting from the amendment risked causing a standstill in activities and investment within the circular economy.

Lombardy, through its Regional Observatory on the Circular Economy, is promoting initiatives to safeguard the operational continuity of at-risk companies at a regional level. Looking ahead, it is pursuing an interregional alliance to propose parliamentary legislation that aligns Italy with European regulations, thereby ensuring a definitive solution to the problem.

For the President of Confindustria Lombardia, Marco Bonometti, there is no time to lose: “Fortunately, at a regional level, we have created this alliance against the poisoned legacy left to us by the previous government. Now, the Ministry of the Environment must move from pseudo-environmental proclamations to action: the amendment on end-of-waste is damaging to our regions, businesses, and citizens. Legislative intervention is required.”

The ‘Sblocca Cantieri’ law, approved in the spring by the Lega-M5S government, addressed the issue of end-of-waste by stipulating that recycling and recovery activities can only be authorised or renewed if they comply with the types of waste governed by the Ministerial Decrees cited in the amendment. These decrees are outdated and do not reflect the technological progress of the last 20 years.

The result is doubly serious, as in addition to the inability for companies to have process and product innovations authorised that are now well-established and fully in line with internationally recognised technological standards, it calls into question the very operational continuity of activities already authorised or currently undergoing renewal.

The Observatory on the Circular Economy, of which Confindustria Lombardia is a member alongside the Lombardy Region, trade unions, and local universities, has highlighted how the development of the circular economy has been paralysed for too long due to this inadequate regulatory framework.

Immediate and urgent decisive regulatory action is therefore required to restore the authority of the Regions to grant end-of-waste authorisations on a “case-by-case” basis.