Illegal shoppers in the Caserta area: 2500 kg of non-compliant plastic bags seized, fines of 65.000 euros

As part of the checks aimed at combating the illegal trade of shoppers, the Forestry Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of the Environmental, Agri-food and Forestry Police of Caserta carried out a specific verification activities in the area of the province, noting the widespread marketing of plastic bags supplied to consumers, for the transport of goods and products, in violation of the provisions of sector regulations as they lack identifying elements and lack suitable wording certifying the thicknesses.

In fact, from 1 January 2018, law 123/2017 introduced a new discipline on the marketing of shopping bags both with reference to the thicknesses, expressed in microns, and with reference to the percentage of recycled plastic and their biodegradability and compostability.

The standard identifies which plastic bags are marketable and distinguishes between "reusable" plastic bags and "light and ultra-light" plastic bags, required for hygiene and primary packaging purposes of bulk foods, both biodegradable and compostable.

The marketing of non-compliant bags entails the imposition of a administrative fine ranging from a minimum of 2.500,00 euros up to 25.000,00 euros, variable amount in the case, for example, of large quantities marketed, as well as the administrative seizure of irregular bags for the purposes of confiscation and destruction.

The provision of these bags free of charge is prohibited by law in order to discourage their use and contribute to the progressive reduction of their use to protect the environment.

Specifically, the activity of the forestry soldiers of the NIPAAF of Caserta has made it possible to reveal the existence of an almost organized system of small intermediaries/retailers who, systematically, and through a precise subdivision of the territory, they distributed, in the various points of sale, not only the compliant plastic bags, but also the irregular ones, naturally without any tax documentation that could allow the supervisory body to trace the producer who, if identified and proven marketing, would in turn risk the seizure of the goods and an administrative sanction and/or criminal complaint for fraud on the market if the shoppers marketed had attested characteristics of compostability and/or biodegradability that they did not possess in light of the analytical results of an analysis process.

An irregular system, therefore, which feeds an underground market and which can make crime in the sector a lucrative business and which constitutes, in fact, a form of unfair competition to the detriment of all those companies that operate in compliance with the law, as well as a significant critical issue with a strong impact on the environment; just think, for example, of the age-old problem of plastics in the sea and the lethal consequences for marine fauna, as well as the confirmed presence of microplastics also in the human food chain.

The control campaign, which took place in the main municipalities of the province of Caserta, looked further fifty companies between commercial establishments, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, and ended with the seizure of over 2500 kg of illegal shoppers, without the mandatory indications required by current legislation, as well as certifications from accredited certifying bodies regarding the content of renewable plastic materials, the standard of which, from 2021, must not be less than 60% of the total composition.

For the violations found, administrative sanctions were imposed for a total amount of 65.000,00 Euros.