Circular economy

Domestic material consumption measures an economy's apparent consumption of material resources. It is the main indicator derived from material flow accounts, used to measure a country's resource productivity as part of its natural resource policies. In 2025, Italian domestic material consumption will amount to 511 million tons (+2.8% compared to the previous year), and resource productivity will stand at €3.61/kg (-2.2% compared to the previous year).

The indicator measures the quantities of Waste from Economic Activities exported for recovery and disposal. In 2024, the total amount of Waste from Economic Activities exported was approximately 5.1 million tonnes, of which 3.3 million tonnes consisted of non-hazardous waste (65.9% of the total) and 1.7 million tonnes of hazardous waste (34.1% of the total). The largest quantities of waste were exported to Germany and Austria, amounting to approximately 1.1 million tonnes and 714 thousand tonnes, respectively. 

The indicator measures the quantities of Waste from Economic Activities imported for recovery in production activities. In 2024, Waste from Economic Activities imported into Italy (over 7 million tonnes) consisted almost entirely of non-hazardous waste (98.4%); hazardous waste amounted to 115 thousand tonnes (1.6% of total imports). The largest quantity originated from Germany, at over 1.7 million tonnes (24.6% of total imports), consisting almost entirely of non-hazardous waste (hazardous waste amounted to only 7,129 tonnes), followed by France, with over 1 million tonnes (14.4% of the total). Waste imported from these countries was predominantly metallic. 

The indicator measures the total amount of Waste from Economic Activities sent for recovery operations (R1–R12) listed in Annex C to Legislative Decree No 152/2006. In 2024, the amount of Waste from Economic Activities recovered was substantial, accounting for 75.2% of the total waste managed (187.2 million tonnes), with a steadily increasing trend (+8.8% over the last three years). The total amount of Waste from Economic Activities recovered was 140.8 million tonnes, of which 4.3 million tonnes were hazardous. Lombardy recorded the largest amount of Waste from Economic Activities recovered (26.3% of the total recovered), followed by Veneto (10.8%) and Emilia-Romagna (8.7%). 

The indicator shows the quantity of Waste from Economic Activities disposed of in landfills by category and type of waste and the number of landfills. In 2024, the total quantity of Waste from Economic Activities disposed of in landfills amounted to 7.7 million tonnes, equal to 4.1% of the total quantity of Waste from Economic Activities managed nationally (187 million tonnes). Compared to 2023, this represents a decrease of approximately 154,000 tonnes (-2%). The total number of operational landfills is 244: 103 landfills for inert waste (42% of the total operating facilities), 130 landfills for non-hazardous waste (53% of the total), and 11 landfills for hazardous waste (5% of the total). Analyzing the three-year period 2022-2024, there is a progressive a progressive decrease in the total number of  operational landfills ranging from 261 in 2022, to 249 in 2023, and 244 in 2024.

The indicator measures the quantity of Waste from Economic Activities co-incinerated in production plants across the country, totally or partially replacing traditional fuels. In 2024, approximately 1.8 million tons of Waste from Economic Activities  were recovered in co-incineration plants. Compared to 2023, the quantities recovered showed a decrease of almost 68,000 tons (-3.7%). With reference to the macro-geographical areas, the data show that the majority of special waste is recovered in the North (77.1% of the total), followed by Central Italy, with 11.6%, and the South with 11.3%.

The share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption in European Union countries over the twenty-year period considered grew in Italy, reaching 19.4% in 2024. This figure is still far from the 38.7% target to be reached by 2030. The country currently ranks below the EU27 average (which reached 25.2% in 2024) and significantly behind leading countries such as Sweden (62.8%), Finland (52.1%), and Denmark (46.5%). The target that the EU27 should reach is around 42.5%.

Construction and demolition waste represents, in absolute terms, the largest stream of hazardous waste generated at both the European and national levels. The construction sector, through its intensive use of natural resources, generates significant impacts on the local environment and a progressive depletion of raw materials due to the opening of natural aggregate quarries. The European Commission has therefore deemed it a priority to monitor the flow of waste from construction and demolition activities by setting, in Article 11 of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, a specific target for preparing for reuse, recycling, and other types of material recovery, including backfilling operations that use waste as a substitute for other materials. In 2024, the recovery and recycling rate of construction and demolition waste is expected to be 82.4%, above the 70% target set for 2020 by Directive 2008/98/EC.

In 2024, the overall production of Waste from Economic Activities generated by the national production system (industrial, commercial, artisanal, and service activities, as well as waste treatment and environmental remediation) will show significant growth, reaching over 172 million tonnes (+4.6% compared to 2023, corresponding to almost 7.6 million tonnes).

Non-hazardous Waste from Economic Activities, which represents 93.7% of total waste produced, shows an increase of almost 7 million tonnes (+4.5%), while hazardous waste, on the other hand, increases by 612 thousand tonnes (+6.0%).

With regard to the construction sector, the incentives provided by the Government for the renovation of buildings aimed at energy requalification continued. These construction/renovation works, together with construction sites for infrastructure and public works and residential and commercial buildings, also supported by funding provided by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), have generated increased quantities of construction and demolition waste.

The indicator quantifies the extraction of natural resources—biomass, metal ores, non-metallic minerals, and fossil fuels—globally, driven by final consumption and investments by households, businesses, and public administration in Italy. Italy has structurally reduced its material footprint, going from 17.8 to 11 tonnes per capita between 2008 and 2025, lower than the EU average (14.3 tonnes per capita). This result highlights significant progress in terms of efficiency and circularity. However, to ensure this competitive advantage is sustainable, the decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption must be consolidated.

Statistical information on environmental taxes can be broken down by tax category, corresponding units, environmental activity category, and revenue destination. In Italy, environmental taxes will amount to €62.4 billion in 2025 (+3.1% compared to the previous year). In 2025, environmental tax revenue will correspond to 6.4% of total taxes and social security contributions and approximately 3% of gross domestic product.

An analysis of the 2024 data shows an increase in recycled/recovered quantities compared to the previous year. This overall figure is consistent with the trend observed in annual deregistrations certified by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport's Public Vehicle Register. Overall, the supply chain achieves a reuse and recycling rate of almost 86.7% of the average vehicle weight, above the 85% target set for 2015 by Article 7, paragraph 2 of Legislative Decree 209/2003.

In 2024, the preparing for re-use and recycling rate, calculated using Method 4 and excluding C&D waste from households, stood at 52.3%, thus exceeding the target set for 2020 (50%).

In 2024, the separate collection rate was 67.7% of national municipal waste generation, increasing by 1.1 percentage points compared with 2023 and remaining above the target set by legislation for 2012 (65%).
 

In 2024, the total amount of municipal waste disposed of in landfills amounted to over 4.4 million tonnes, and the number of operational landfills is equal to 102 plants. There was a reduction, compared to 2023, in the total quantity of urban waste disposed of in landfill equal to 3.7% (-170 thousand tons), and in the number of operational sites equal to 8.9% (-10 facilities). 

In 2024, compared to the 2.3% increase recorded for the production of urban waste, the Italian economy recorded, compared to 2023, a growth in Gross Domestic Product and Final Consumption Expenditure on the national territory, equal, for both socio-economic indicators, to 0.7%.

In 2024, national municipal waste (MW) generation stood at just over 29.9 million tonnes, increasing by 2.3%, corresponding to 664 thousand tonnes, compared with 2023.

In 2024, the seventh edition of the Catalogue of Environmentally Harmful and Environmentally Beneficial Subsidies identified a total of 191 subsidy measures (compared with 183 in 2022). These included EUR 25.4 billion in Environmentally Harmful Subsidies (EHS), a record EUR 71.8 billion in Environmentally Beneficial Subsidies (EBS), and EUR 26.3 billion in Uncertain Environmental Impact  Subsidies (UEIS). Among environmentally harmful subsidies, those supporting fossil fuels amounted to EUR 19.6 billion in 2024.

The Circular Material Use Rate (CMUR) measures  the share of material resources reused by an economy. In the period 2004-2024 the rate of circular use of Italian materials goes from 5.8% to 21.6%

In 2024, the ratio of the quantities of organic waste recycled to the quantities collected separately was 82.1%, increasing both compared with 2023 (80.9%) and with 2022 (79.9%).

European legislation sets ambitious recycling targets for 2025 and 2030 for packaging waste, which represents one of the main waste streams monitored. The recycling rate of packaging waste, calculated as the ratio between the quantity of waste recycled and the quantity of waste generated, monitors progress towards a circular economy by assessing its reintroduction into industrial cycles as secondary raw materials.

With a view to ensuring uniform conditions for measuring the new targets, based on the actual quantity of packaging waste reprocessed into new products, materials or substances, stringent calculation methodologies have been defined at European level. With the application of the new methodologies, the targets set for 2025 have already been achieved for all packaging fractions, including plastics.

For the plastic fraction, however, increasing recycling remains a priority in view of the 2030 target (55%), including through the development of new treatment technologies, especially for those types of waste that are currently difficult to recover through mechanical processes.

The indicator analyzes the commercial flows of recyclable materials, highlighting a growth trend of 20% in cross-border movements in the period 2004–2024 (from 12.9 to 15.5 million tonnes). The increase in intra-EU imports stands out (+34.5%), essential for the metallurgical and manufacturing sectors, and the strong expansion of extra-EU exports (+83.4%). In 2024, the national system absorbed 12.7 million tonnes of imports, dominated by ferrous metals (5.9 million tonnes), while it contributed to the global supply with 2.8 million tonnes exported, of which approximately half was made up of paper and cardboard. These dynamics reflect the consolidation of Italian circular supply chains, in full coherence with the European objectives of resource efficiency and reduction of the use of virgin raw materials.

The indicator quantifies the environmental impact of Italian consumption through 16 indicators based on the life cycle (LCA). In the period 2010-2024, the national consumption footprint index recorded a reduction of 8% (dropping from 100 to 92), compared to a 6% increase in the EU-27 average. However, analyzing the trend per inhabitant, Italy's single score, despite having dropped from approximately 0.98 pt to 0.91 pt, remains constantly higher than the European average (which went from 0.82 pt to 0.85 pt), highlighting an environmental pressure per capita that is still high compared to the community context. The objective is to monitor the decoupling between consumption and impacts to fall within planetary limits.

Under the pressure of community policies, the flow of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has assumed a role of primary importance within the waste cycle for the implementation of the principles of the circular economy, also for the purposes of the supply of Critical Raw Materials. Compared to waste in general, WEEE is characterized by the presence within it of both dangerous substances and materials with high economic value. The legislative provisions have therefore established measures aimed at protecting the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the negative impacts deriving from the design, production of electrical and electronic equipment and the production and management of waste resulting from them. The recycling industry becomes fundamental for the transition towards the circular economy: in fact, it allows material flows deriving from waste recovery to be reintroduced into production cycles, increasing the efficiency of resources to achieve sustainable development objectives and avoiding the importation of raw materials. Given an overall collection of WEEE equal to approximately 510 thousand tonnes in 2023, the percentage of preparation for reuse and recycling is equal to 84.2% and that of overall recovery is 93.9%.

From 2005 to 2023, in Italy, the circular economy sector showed signs of economic strengthening, with an increase in value added (+0.4 percentage points on GDP) and investments (+0.2 points), but a decrease in relative employment (-0.2 points), highlighting the need for policies that accompany the transition with greater attention to inclusion and the social dimension of circular work.

In 2024 Italy confirms itself among the EU leader countries in terms of eco-innovation, with performances above the European average in resource efficiency, energy productivity, and emissions. Between 2014 and 2024, the Italian index grew by +39.2 percentage points (pp), exceeding the EU average increase (+27.5 pp), with a particularly marked improvement in resource efficiency (+64.4 pp compared to +62 pp EU).

The indicator evaluates the pressures on the environment and the efficiency of resources used by the economy to generate wealth, as well as its progress toward achieving a circular economy. In 2022, the ratio of national waste production to gross domestic product (GDP) was slightly above the European average (66 kg/1,000€ vs. 60 kg/1,000€). Overall, the economic system still appears unable to limit waste production in relation to the wealth produced. 

The indicator is useful for monitoring progress toward a circular economy, allowing for the identification of the quantities of materials reintroduced into the economy following waste treatment. Compared to the total amount of waste sent for recovery and disposal operations, more than three-quarters of the treated waste is recycled, placing Italy among the countries with the highest recycling rates.

In 2021, in Italy, consumption and investments caused 439.5 Mt of CO2 (carbon footprint), equivalent to about 1.2% of global CO2 emissions, marking a 15% increase compared to the previous year. Of these, about 52 Mt come from the EU (excluding Italy) through imports, and 126 Mt from the rest of the world. Household activities, primarily from transport and heating, which are solely of Italian origin, account for about a quarter of the carbon footprint. The category of final demand that accounts for the largest share of the carbon footprint is final consumption expenditure (28%). About 12% of Italy's carbon footprint originates from the EU (excluding Italy), 7% from China, 4% from Russia, and 17% from the rest of the world.

An economic system operates through energy inputs. The total energy consumption of resident units indicates the amount of energy used by economic activities and households for production and consumption activities, distinguishing energy uses from non-energy uses.

In 2021, the total energy consumption in Italy amounted to 7.05 exajoules, a 17.1% reduction compared to 2008. The total consumption is almost entirely for energy uses. In 2021, over two-thirds of the total energy use is attributable to productive activities. Among these, the top six activities for energy use (slightly more than half of total use) contribute to nearly 7% of Italy's Gross Domestic Product. 31% of the total energy use is due to household consumption (mainly heating/cooling and transport).

ISPRA also estimates the internal energy footprint, which allows the analysis of energy uses from the perspective of final domestic demand, highlighting the direct and indirect energy amounts embedded in the goods and services offered on the domestic market by Italian production chains.