Managing biodegradable waste arising from park and garden maintenance

Priority question for written answer P-004292/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Dario Tamburrano (The Left), Danilo Della Valle (The Left), Mario Furore (The Left)

Directive 2008/98 classes 'biodegradable garden and park waste' as types of bio-waste which must be sorted and recycled at source or collected separately.

In Italy, a 2024 Ministry of the Environment decree[1] established that 'branches, prunings and plant residues arising from the maintenance of public and private green spaces'[2] can be used by biomass plants to produce incentivised renewable energy.

Italy has also classed materials originating from 'the maintenance of landscapes and public and private green spaces' as urban waste, though their disposal as such is not compulsory. While users typically have to pay for the processing of urban waste that is destined for recovery, those who deliver prunings or the like to biomass plants are actually paid for doing so.

This isn't the first time that Italy has managed waste arising form the maintenance of ornamental greenery in this way: in 2016, it classed grass clippings and prunings as biomass that can be used to produce energy, triggering EU Pilot procedure 2017/9180/ENVI[3]. Our understanding[4] is that Italy avoided the launching of infringement proceedings by classifying the above as waste.

By allowing biomass plants to make use of prunings, branches and plant residues arising from the maintenance of public and private green spaces, the Ministerial Decree of 19 June 2024 deprives their classification as waste of all effectiveness.

• 1.Can the Commission clarify whether Italy correctly is correctly transposing Directive 2008/98 and any other subsequent legislation regulating this matter?
• 2.What action does the Commission intend to take against Italy if it is indeed failing to comply with the above?

Supporter[5]

Submitted: 31.10.2025

• [1] Ministerial Decree of 19 June 2024 (https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/-/decreto-19-giugno-2024-recante-quot-incentivazione-degli-impianti-a-fonte-rinnovabile-innovativi-o-con-costi-di-generazione-elevati-che-presentino-caratteristiche-di-innovazione-e-ridotto-impatto-sull-ambiente-e-sul-territorio).
• [2] Decree-Law No 153 of 17 October 2024 (https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legge:2024-10-17;153), amending Annex L(d) to Legislative Decree No 152 of 3 April 2006 (https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2006-04-03;152!vig=2025-07-16).
• [3] See question for written answer E-008519-16 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2016-008519_IT.html?redirect) and the answer thereto.
• [4] Italian Chamber of Deputies file on EU law for 2019-2020 (https://documenti.camera.it/leg18/dossier/pdf/ID0011.pdf p. 153 et seq.)
• [5] This question is supported by a Member other than the authors: Ignazio Roberto Marino (Verts/ALE).