Getting down to business

After so many years of armchair criticism and solemn statements about the need to get down and truly start working for a better and more sustainable environment, the government has over the past months shown that it is adamant and fully committed towards ensuring a healthier environment for our country.

Waste management has been one area of neglect for many years and I am one who considers the mount at the site of the old Maghtab dump to be a monument of our inactions and bad practices over the years. I am proud to form part of an administration that has made the drawing up and implementation of a sustainable waste management strategy one of the pillars of its mandate.

These past months have been eventful:

¤ the closing of the old Maghtab and Qortin dump sites on April 30, 2004;

¤ the start of the rehabilitation process for Maghtab, Qortin and Wied Fulija;

¤ the setting up of Ta' Zwejra waste storage facility;

¤ the preparation for the setting up of the Gozo waste transfer station;

¤ the decision about the site for the permanent landfill at Ghallis following the outcome of analysis about the rock quality.

These are just the highlights of a longer list confirming that the government is truly intent on creating the perfect conditions in which a sustainable waste management strategy can truly function and leave a tangible and indelible mark on our society.

Effective policies and campaigns come at a cost. We have become used to not having to pay anything specifically for our domestic waste collection and storage. This does not mean that it does not cost anything to the government. Without going into much specific detail, I can say that this year's expenditure by WasteServ is estimated at around Lm4 million.

Moreover, a number of projects are at hand to strengthen and develop a new infrastructure. The cost is estimated at around €32 million, out of which the European Union will be forking out around €24 million. If we were not members of the European Union, the cost to implement a waste management strategy in our country would be exorbitant.

These amounts confirm that the government has to start introducing measures that are intended to make the polluter pay while altering the consumer trends of our society. With this in mind, the government has opted for the introduction of an eco contribution.

As announced during last year's budget speech, the government has identified specific waste streams that have a considerable negative impact to start introducing this new measure. Even though most of us will surely underestimate the impact, whenever a product enters the general waste stream rather than finding its way to a privately owned recovery scheme, an eco contribution will help to finance waste management initiatives linked to that particular item. Eco-contribution will help finance:

¤ the direct costs of operation from collection to final disposal;

¤ the capital and indirect costs related to the operation from collection to final disposal;

¤ the direct costs related to contracted services;

¤ the direct and indirect costs related to the planning of a project, dissemination of information, public campaigns, supervision and administration.

In drawing up this new measure the government has not departed from its social responsibilities and this is clearly evident from the rates that have been allocated to the various products. To give an example, a bottle of water will carry a much lesser charge than a bottle of whisky.

Moreover, through this measure the government is not only aiming at covering part of its cost for waste management strategy but also to create a better awareness among consumers about the need to opt for less environmentally damaging material and products.

In introducing this new measure the government has also given due importance and attention to consultations with the constituted bodies. The government will still be open for dialogue and will be ready to take on board any positive suggestions that can eventually lead to a better and smoother administration of this measure. This was the case when we took the Federation of Industry's suggestion to appoint a commission that will measure the effects of the eco contribution while studying the possibility of introducing waste collection schemes by importers and producers themselves.

To this effect five per cent of what will be collected in revenue from the new measure will go towards assisting in the setting up of such schemes.

The government is doing its act. It is still not too late to halt and reverse the damage that we have already inflicted on our own eco-system. Each one of us should be committed to genuinely make sure that we not only preserve, but that we can also be in a position to pass on a much better, more sustainable and healthier environment to future generations.

George Pullicino is Minister for Rural Affairs and Environment.