EAD (in Italian: Etichetta ambientale digitale) is a digital environmental label providing information about the product packaging: its components, the materials it's made of, and how to dispose of them properly. All you need to do is scan the QR code on the packaging to get real-time, geolocated and accurate information on how to dispose of it.

EAD helps consumers sort waste properly and facilitates the collection, reuse, recovery and recycling of product packaging.

It began with a law decree which entered into force in Italy in January 2023 and stipulates that all packaging must be adequately labeled in order to facilitate its collection, reuse, recovery and recycling, as well as to give consumers accurate information about disposal.

Manufacturers face several issues:

• little space on the packaging to put additional information
• need to change the amount of information and its placement on the packaging to gain space for information on disposal
• need to adapt the packaging every time changes are made to the product itself
• providing consumers with the right information on disposal, since rules for waste sorting may vary from one place to another.

EAD is the answer to all these issues: it just takes a QR code on the product's packaging which consumers scan with a smartphone to get information on how to sort the packaging properly.

The information is validated not only by Giunko, the Italian startup which created the Junker app, but also by manufacturers themselves. And it's geolocated, so it's always adapted to where consumers live.

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