Stampa

Comieco consortium – paper waste management (investigation launched)


PRESS RELEASE


PRESS RELEASE



PAPER RECYCLING: ANTITRUST AUTHORITY LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO COMIECO CONSORTIUM FOR POSSIBLE COMPETITION-RESTRICTING AGREEMENT

On March 18th, 2010, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato decided to launch investigation to determine whether the Comieco consortium (National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Cellulose-based Packaging) had set up a competition-restricting agreement to pre-determine the amounts of paper waste that are collected and distributed to each consortium member and the net purchase prices for paper matter.
The objective of the Comieco Consortium, which dates back to the ‘Ronchi Decree’ of 1998, is to recover and recycle paper-based packaging. This activity represents a significant economic variable for the paper mills of the Consortium. In 2008 alone, the raw materials generated by separately collected fractions were valued at 456 million euro.
According to the Antitrust Authority provision, which was announced during the course of joint inspections with Special Units of the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Tax Police), Comieco bylaws could cause serious competitive distortions in the paper production sector. The distribution mechanism employed involves parceling out the collected materials in proportion to the productive capacity of each individual operator. In effect, each individual paper mill receives a pre-determined quantity of waste paper (raw material).  
The prices that paper mills pay for raw paper material, furthermore, are not left to the determination of free market dynamics, as they should be, but are instead fixed and do not include charges for paper waste collection services (a.k.a. the 'mandated fee').
Lastly, consortium members who fail to respect Comieco bylaws are subjected to a system of sanctions designed to deter deviant behaviors.


Rome - March 30th, 2010