THE RICREA CONSORTIUM

RICREA, National Consortium for the Recycling and Recovery of Steel Packaging , was born in 1997 with a private and non-profit legal personality, within the framework of the environmental legislation known as the Ronchi Decree; is one of the seven supply chain consortia that make up the CONAI System (National Packaging Consortium).

Producers of raw materials and steel containers and also recyclers belong to the Consortium. There are currently 311 member companies in total.

RICREA carries out its institutional function by encouraging, promoting and facilitating the collection and recycling of used steel packaging. The packaging used comes both from the separate collection made by citizens (public surface) and from the ad hoc collection made by companies, shops and production activities (private surface).

The Consortium also has the important task of informing citizens to recognize steel containers and to raise their awareness of correct separate collection, the first important step for subsequent recycling.

The Consortium makes use of the collaboration of numerous subjects: the managers of separate waste collection - i.e. Municipalities, Consortia of Municipalities, Municipalities, private managers (RICREA Network) and the ASSOFERMET associations(National Association of Ferrous Scrap Dealers) and FIRI (Italian Federation of Packaging Regenerators), which constitute a widespread network of companies specialized in the valorisation of steel packaging waste.

In its 25 years of activity, the RICREA Consortium has started recycling increasingly greater percentages of steel packaging, which has allowed it year after year to significantly exceed, starting from 2002, the 50% threshold imposed by Legislative Decree no. 22 of 1997.

With the adoption of the 2018 European directive (EU 2018/852), RICREA has already reached and exceeded the target for 2030 (indicated as 80%).

In 2022, in fact, as many as 80.6% of steel packagingreleased for consumption in Italy have been sent for recycling, that is to say that out of 100 cans, jars, sprays, buckets or steel lids produced and used in Italy, more than 80 have been insured for recycling by the RICREA Consortium, which has guaranteed the rebirth in the form of beams and rods for construction, wrenches, bolts, nails, iron gates, benches and bicycle frames.