The Authority has found that the consortium has impeded competition and innovation in the services aimed at the recovery and recycling of pet bottles for food use

The Competition Authority has found that Corepla, the plastic supply chain consortium that is part of the Conai system, has abused its dominant position in the Italian market for services aimed at recycling and recovery pet plastic packaging for food use (plastic bottles for water and soft drinks), which are offered to producers required to comply with their environmental obligations. For this reason, the Authority imposed a fine of over 27 million euros after having adopted in October 2019 interim measures for a timely elimination of Corepla's exclusive claims on materials derived from urban waste sorting.

In serious breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Corepla has implemented an articulated strategy aimed at hindering the operation of its competitor Coripet, the consortium formed by the producers of plastic bottles for food liquids, formerly Corepla's members, authorised to operate provisionally by the Ministry of the Environment since April 2018 on the basis of an innovative project aimed at pet recovery and recycling.

The project involves managing waste materials which, in addition to deriving from the traditional urban waste sorting, also comes from the progressive installation of automatic collectors in the territory (the so-called eco-compactors) that are able to directly receive empty plastic bottles for liquids from end consumers. In this way, on the basis of economic incentive benefits, sorting in the collection of pet plastic packaging for food use is stimulated and the activation of the so-called "bottle to bottle” circuit, an example of implementation of circular economy, is enabled.

In order to acquire the right to operate permanently on the market, Coripet had to prove its operational capacity within two years from the date of the provisional authorisation, but its activity was hampered by a series of abusive conduct by Corepla.

In particular, the investigation conducted by the Authority found that Corepla prevented Coripet from accessing the management of plastic waste attributable to its consortium members, both by hindering an agreement of the new entrant with Anci to be reached, and by refusing to enter into a transitional agreement with Coripet, which had become necessary due to the impossibility of signing an agreement directly with Anci.

The intervention of the Authority has therefore made it possible to extend competitive mechanisms to the offer of services aimed at the recovery and recycling of pet bottles for food use, thus favouring the competitive dynamics provided for by the Consolidated Environmental Law with advantages not only for the community, but also for the environment.

Rome, 10 November 2020