A plastic word. Ups and downs in the national application of directive 2019/904/EU

Today, plastic is one of the biggest environmental problems. Directive 2019/904/EU aims to contribute to an increasingly plastic free society by reducing disposable plastic’s use. This paper analyses the criticalities of EU directive comparing States’ transposition and finding that some EU Countries are far behind (such as Romania or Slovakia) compared to others (such as Germany, France, or Italy). Also, several EU Regions anticipated State directive’s transposition by applying decrees or regulations focusing on citizens’ education. Indeed, citizens must be made aware by the regulator of the impacts that the production and mismanagement of plastics can generate on to the environment and health. Italy can be considered one of the most virtuous Countries since it adopted local regulations and it is characterized by case law on plastic.