For Giorgio Quagliuolo, who has led the Corepla consortium since last July, the point is not the demonisation of plastic. Because the problems do not lie in the material itself, which on the contrary remains fundamental in many sectors, but rather in its end-of-life management. The European directive that has banned certain single-use plastic products represents an important shift in direction, but there is still much to be done on the front of recycling and the recyclability of packaging upstream, and of awareness-raising among citizens downstream. Because plastic is talked about a great deal, yet we continue to make mistakes in separate waste collection that put the recycling supply chain in difficulty.

In recent years, plastic has undergone a kind of demonisation. Yet it remains a fundamental material in many sectors. The problems, from an environmental point of view, are linked to its management, in particular for single-use products. Do you agree?
You have put your finger on the crux of the matter: the problem is not so much the material itself, but its poor management. Plastic is a complex material, and some of its greatest strengths — foremost among them its durability — become weaknesses if it is managed recklessly. But it is an intelligent material, indispensable in many sectors. Even in this emergency situation, plastic has revealed its full usefulness, to the point of prompting a change of perspective in many people: public opinion has realised that plastic has helped to save lives, not only in hospitals, but also in everyday safety. But precisely for this reason, we must intensify efforts and refocus attention on individual actions, civic sense, and individual and collective responsibility.

From this point of view, what are the most evident impacts of the European directive banning single-use plastic plates and cutlery? Especially in Italy, where we have gone even further by also banning cups?
The directive banned plates and cutlery from July 2021 (cutlery is not packaging and does not fall within our circuit), while for cups a reduction is envisaged by 2026. The issue is always the same: it is not a problem of material but of management. The solution is correct use of plastic packaging, reducing it where possible, reusing it and recycling it when it reaches end of life. Upstream, Corepla works alongside companies to reconcile the performance and marketing requirements of packaging with their recyclability. The contribution that producers pay when they place packaging on the market is also differentiated according to the recyclability of the material and acts as a lever to encourage companies to produce packaging that is easier to give value to at end of life.

Among the most common mistakes that citizens still make is disposing of organic waste in non-compostable plastic bags. What does this entail?
Just a few months ago, Corepla published the results of a study conducted with the Consorzio Italiano Compostatori, concerning the monitoring of the quantity and quality of plastic and compostable packaging disposed of in kitchen and garden waste. Among other findings, the quantities of conventional plastic packaging that erroneously enter the supply chain and are considered impurities were quantified. Conventional plastic bags still account for 36.2 per cent of the bags used to collect wet waste: this creates problems for composting both from a quantitative and qualitative standpoint, with a consequent increase in costs as well.

What are the other most frequent mistakes?
There are still many mistakes in the collection of plastic packaging too, the foremost being the disposal of non-packaging items as well: toys, furnishing objects and various utensils should not be placed in the separate waste collection. Moreover, it is not easy to make people understand that biodegradable and compostable plastic should not be placed in the conventional plastic collection either.

What is the impact of the pandemic on plastic waste management? From gloves to takeaway food, the impression is that we are witnessing a massive return to single use.
The pandemic has upended habits and ways of life, called consumer models into question and, with them, the perception of packaging — particularly food packaging — for its fundamental role in preventing health risks and guaranteeing the safety of contents. The pandemic has halted many activities, but it has not halted separate waste collection: Italy's waste management system has shown great resilience and adaptability during this very complex period, managing to guarantee an essential service throughout the duration of the emergency. Despite a fall in consumption, the plastic packaging to be managed has increased — think, for example, of the massive recourse to takeaway and e-commerce — and the volumes collected separately have grown, a sign that concern for the environment has remained a priority for everyone. Citizens also found themselves dealing with face masks and gloves, to be disposed of in general waste in accordance with the guidelines of the Istituto superiore di sanità; it is therefore essential to accompany all our activities with an intensive information and awareness-raising campaign, in order to provide correct guidance and prevent waste from being dispersed in the environment.

Less than 10 per cent of European plastic demand is met by recycled plastic. What is needed to reverse this trend?
Interventions are needed at various levels; the downstream recycling market certainly needs to be incentivised through targeted actions, promoting the use of recycled material with ad hoc policies and economic incentives. A public "green purchasing" policy — the so-called green public procurement — is fundamental, for example, as a strategic tool for a sustainable economy, as is the introduction of tax relief for those who use secondary raw materials. It is also necessary to encourage and support the establishment of efficient facilities throughout the entire supply chain, and never to lose sight of the upstream problem — that is, designing packaging to be recyclable from the very earliest stages of its conception.

With the "Salvamare" legislative decree, fishermen will be able to bring ashore in port the plastic collected during their trips at sea. What is the current status of this measure?

The "Salvamare" decree is stalled in the Senate's Environment committee; it will be unblocked shortly but as of today it is not yet operative. The consortium has been a forerunner in this regard and has been running experimental projects on river and marine litter since 2018, in synergy with institutions: these consist of three projects at as many points along the River Po, litter-capture activities on the Tiber and Aniene rivers, and trials in ports in Lazio and Puglia, with the involvement of fishermen. Corepla's role in particular is to study the waste collected, characterise it and assess its sortability and recyclability, in order to then recover it by transforming it into new resources.

Still on the subject of the sea, how does the anti-pollution fleet that came into operation a few weeks ago — in which Corepla also plays a leading role — work?
The "Mare pulito" operation, a two-year project promoted by the Ministry of the Environment — today the Ministry for Ecological Transition — uses 19 coastal vessels from the anti-pollution fleet led by Castalia to collect floating waste along the Italian coastline, focusing in particular on the waters off river mouths and in marine protected areas. The recovered waste is first stored in skips at the ports involved (Imperia, La Spezia, Castellammare di Stabia, Fiumicino, Piombino, Vasto, Porto Torres, Crotone, Gallipoli, Otranto, Vibo Valentia, San Benedetto del Tronto, Chioggia, Cagliari, Oristano, Termini Imerese, Marsala, Augusta, Pozzallo and Licata) and then transferred to authorised centres. There it is studied to verify its type, composition, state of preservation and actual recyclability, so that it can be put to the best possible use and transformed from waste into resources.