Italy: CONAI packaging contribution
CONAI takes declarations through online forms rather than a file upload, and applies fee bands that differ by material. Paper and board recyclability in Italy is assessed against ATICELCA 501, which is a separate methodology from the assessments applied to the same component elsewhere.
What you must do
- Declare through the CONAI online forms, which means the data has to be assembled and reviewed before entry rather than exported and uploaded.
- Report against the CONAI material categories, which carry their own fee bands.
- Assess paper and board recyclability against ATICELCA 501 where the Italian position is relevant.
What data you need
| Field | What the scheme needs |
|---|---|
| Material per component | Mapped to the CONAI categories, because the fee band follows the material category rather than a single flat rate. |
| Component weight | Per component, aggregated into the volumes entered per material. |
| Composite construction | Recorded as construction, because composite categorisation differs between schemes and determines which band applies. |
| ATICELCA 501 assessment | For paper and board components, held per component alongside the other national assessments. |
How fees work
CONAI applies fee bands that differ by material, so what a component costs depends on which material category it is declared under.
That makes the accuracy of the material mapping a financial question rather than only a compliance one. A component declared in the wrong category is charged at the wrong band.
What Merchant produces
- A CONAI declaration data set in the material categories the online forms expect, prepared and checked before entry.
Common mistakes
- Assembling the figures immediately before entering them into the online forms. Because there is no file upload to validate, errors go in unchallenged, so the checking has to happen upstream.
- Mapping materials from another scheme. CONAI categories carry their own fee bands, and an inherited mapping charges the wrong band.
- Reducing composite components to a dominant material, which changes the category and therefore the band.
- Treating an ATICELCA 501 result as a general recyclability position. It is the Italian paper and board assessment, not a substitute for ZSVR, COTREP or RAM.
How Merchant helps
- Prepare and check the CONAI figures before entering them
- Assess paper and board against ATICELCA 501
- Model what the material band costs across the portfolio
Questions
Through online forms rather than a file upload, with material-specific fee bands applied to what you declare.
Because the fee band follows the material category. A component declared under the wrong category is charged at the wrong band, so the mapping has a direct financial effect.
The Italian assessment for paper and board recyclability. It is one of several national methodologies a single component can be assessed against, and a result under it does not carry over to other markets.
No, and it should not be. The submission is manual, but the figures behind it come from the same component records as every other scheme, which is what makes them checkable before entry.
Related reading
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Book a demoLast reviewed 2026-08-17