Minimum environmental criteria for playground design

24/03/2023 – The Ministerial Decree of 7 February 2023 was published in the Official Gazette with the Minimum Environmental Criteria for the design of playgrounds, the supply, installation and ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of urban furniture and outdoor furniture products.

CAM design of playgrounds and urban and outdoor furnishings in force since 20 July 2023

The new rules will be in force from 20 July 2023, i.e. 120 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

Starting from this date, the tenders for the assignment of the design and the purchase of urban and outdoor furnishings will have to require compliance with the new CAMs.


The new CAMs repeal the Ministerial Decree of February 5, 2015, which is no longer current due to the regulatory evolution of the sector, technical progress and the evolution of the reference markets, which allow the objectives of environmental sustainability to be achieved more effectively.

How the new CAMs work for designing playgrounds and urban and outdoor furnishings

The goal of Ministerial Decree February 7, 2023 is to promote the efficient use of materials and extend the useful life of products.

The designers, in choosing the products to propose in the tender phase, must therefore evaluate those made with the least use of raw materials, but with materials deriving from waste collection, with by-products, production waste reused within the same production site or coming from other industrial processes. The materials must also be easily disassembled and recovered at the end of their useful life.

The choice should preferably fall on reconditioned products equivalent to those first placed on the market.

In designing play areas, it is also necessary to propose solutions that limit soil consumption, enhance the natural heritage and include people with disabilities.