Shop owners make noises over empty bottles

Incentives for refuse collectors to deal with waste that is properly separated would make more sense than deposits for returnable beverage packaging, according to the director general of the Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU, Vince Farrugia.

Shop owners have given the thumbs down to a proposed deposit scheme through which all beverage containers - including plastic bottles, cans and carton packs - will be collected.

A deposit scheme already exists for refillable glass bottles, but the GRTU is unhappy with it. Mr Farrugia said the scheme had been imposed on shop owners.

When contacted, Christopher Ciantar, director of environment policy and initiatives at the Environment Ministry, said it was for industry to decide how best to meet its obligations regarding packaging waste.

He said returnable deposit schemes were part of consumer culture: "Recovery rates where deposit refund has been applied have been dramatic, even locally, with approximately 90 per cent recovery registered".

Mr Farrugia said shop owners were not "waste collectors", adding that small outlets were already encountering problems to collect bottles because of a lack of storage space and manpower. The GRTU would also be against the scheme if shop owners received compensation.

A spokesman for the Environment Ministry said the government must meet its environmental obligations, which included increasing the number of recycled items. The government had started a consultation exercise with the stakeholders, including the GRTU, to discuss how to meet these obligations.

Dr Ciantar said that by the end of 2009, Malta must recover a minimum of 51 per cent of waste and recycle 45 per cent of it. The target until the end of last year was to recover 28 per cent of waste and recycle 25 per cent. He emphasised that the obligation was on the producer or the importer.

During a recent meeting between the government and the GRTU it was agreed that the chamber would submit its official position on the issue but the ministry said nothing had so far been received. Mr Farrugia however said the GRTU had made its position clear during last week during a press conference, adding that the "ball is in the government's court".

Dr Ciantar said that while education about recycling was crucial and should continue, there were certain waste categories where an incentive would help. "Various schemes may be devised by the producers and importers to ensure they recover as much waste from the market as possible," he said.