When “reusable” means more plastic waste: The vending machine loophole

OPINION – In the wake of growing pressure to reduce plastic waste, Italy’s Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security has proposed a new technical regulation defining specific weight and size thresholds for plastic items to qualify as “reusable” under the EU Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive. While the move aims to close a dangerous loophole, the damage from regulatory ambiguity is already unfolding.

Despite the original intent of the SUP Directive to promote sustainability, certain market shifts have led to the replacement of compostable bioplastics — like Luminy® PLA — with thicker, conventional plastic alternatives labeled “reusable.” The outcome? Increased plastic consumption, reduced circularity, and lost momentum for innovation in compostable materials.

Sometimes, a policy designed to reduce waste ends up doing the opposite. Italy’s recent experience with single-use stirrers is a case in point — a lesson in how flexible interpretations of EU law can inadvertently undermine environmental goals.

Until recently, coffee stirrers dispensed by vending machines across Italy were made from compostable compounds based on PLA (polylactic acid), offering a practical and responsible end-of-life solution aligned with the country’s composting systems. These stirrers, often made from biobased Luminy® PLA, were intended for one-time use — as most consumers would naturally expect. After all, retrieving and reusing a stirrer from a public vending machine is not standard behavior.

In response to regulatory pressure, some companies began introducing thicker plastic stirrers and labeling them as “reusable.” The rationale? If an item can be washed and reused, it may fall outside the scope of SUP restrictions. However, these items continue to be dispensed automatically with each beverage and discarded immediately afterward — usage patterns that remain unmistakably single-use.

Rather than decreasing plastic use, the shift to these thicker items has increased the environmental footprint. Reports from bioplastics suppliers indicate the loss of hundreds of tons of compostable material due to the change. The impact on the compostable disposables market is already visible. According to Assobioplastiche, the sector saw a 21% decline in 2023 alone — a troubling trend for an industry built on circularity, innovation, and reduced carbon emissions.

At the heart of the issue lies a legislative gap. The SUP Directive bans certain single-use plastics but lacks a concrete definition of “reusable.” Italian Legislative Decree 196/2021 failed to clarify this, leaving the door open to interpretations that deviate from both environmental intent and practical reality.

A recent investigation by Legambiente highlights the problem: out of 317 food service products labeled as reusable, only 8% provided clear guidance on dishwasher or microwave safety. Nearly 40% gave no information on how many times the item could be reused. The term “reusable” is increasingly being applied in ways that do not reflect actual usage or end-of-life practices.

In response, the Italian government has submitted a draft technical regulation to the EU Commission that sets minimum weight and size criteria to define reusability. It’s a welcome step, but regulatory processes take time. Meanwhile, industry stakeholders, environmental groups, and consumers must remain engaged and vocal.

It is essential to recognize that items dispensed for immediate use and disposal, regardless of material thickness, continue to function as single-use. Labelling them otherwise only delays meaningful progress. We must ensure that European environmental legislation supports true reuse — based on system-level design and practical reusability — not just material specifications. The credibility of sustainability policy, and the future of responsible materials innovation, depend on it.