Pop goes the derogation

A man with a sack makes his way across the beach, picking up empty glass bottles. He recovers as many bottles as he can and takes them to a shop which accepts the returns. Collecting the refundable deposit, he buys himself a beer and pockets the change.

This single voluntary action, stemming from economic interest rather than environmental concerns, has made the beach cleaner and brought Malta a little closer to fulfilling EU recycling targets.

Despite a temporary derogation, to allow time for adjustment, Malta has found it difficult to reach EU recycling targets. Now that the legal notice on bottling drinks in glass bottles is to be dissolved in a few months' time something has to be done to avoid a waste crisis.

European law rules out a ban on cans and other one-way packaging, claiming that such a ban would be interfering in the internal market. Following criticism by the European Commission of Danish regulations which kept cans out of the market, and the waste stream, Denmark introduced a deposit on cans in October 2003.

If disposable one-way packaging for soft drinks had been allowed to enter the local market from the first day Malta took up EU membership then a great number of disposables would likely have ended up scattered on beaches, or in the countryside.

Before joining the European Union the government of Malta secured a derogation which retained an existing law that certain drinks had to be sold in glass bottles. Although the law went against EU trade regulations, shedding it too quickly without a backup scheme would have meant that thousands of plastic bottles and aluminium cans would enter the market with all the ensuing waste management problems.

Even if all the predicted thousands of extra plastic bottles had been responsibly disposed of in rubbish bins, the discarded drinks containers would have put an added strain on an already heaving, groaning Maghtab/Zwejra dump. European waste management plans call for cutting down on waste going to the landfill. This is especially true for small islands where every inch of space competes with other uses. Now that the derogation is about to expire it is clear that a deposit/return scheme is essential.

A long-standing habit of collecting and returning empties is being harnessed to satisfy EU targets and tackle the littering problem both at once. When the protective derogation expires on January 1, 2007, we will be better prepared to handle a different kind of beverage packaging. As the derogation expires a flood of aluminium cans and plastic bottles is anticipated on the market, all requiring a keener look at the options for their final waste disposal.

An initiative to encourage producers and importers of soft drinks and beer to join a deposit-return scheme is set to cut down on littering and satisfy producer responsibility while keeping up with recycling targets. The three main bottling companies on the island are already taking part in the non-profit making scheme.

The scheme is attractive to any producer and/or importer of beverages who can achieve 80% or more of the EU recovery target. Full exemption of the eco-contribution will be offered as an incentive. Apart from waiving of this tax another incentive for companies joining the scheme is the opportunity to become shareholders in Malta Deposit and Return System Ltd.

The waste packaging regulation of 2004 obliges producers to take responsibility for the waste they produce. Any company taking part in the scheme would go a good way to meeting this requirement.

Returns recipient

The environment-friendly behaviour of bottle collecting for small change would have died out if nothing were done to preserve it. Farsons, General Soft Drinks and Marsovin are already moving to preserve the recycling tradition and inviting other companies to join the scheme with them. A 3c returnable deposit is to be introduced on different kinds of beverage packaging, starting with aluminium cans.

Under the scheme a receiver of returns can be any person or machine registered with MDRS, the company set up to manage the scheme. The deposit had to be set high enough to encourage people to return beverage packaging in order to be refunded the deposit. At the same time it must be reasonable enough not to be rejected by the consumer.

One option for putting the scheme into action is the use of a type of vending machine in reverse. Already popular in the United States, these machines give cash back for empty drinks containers deposited.

There is still room for refillables which will continue operating as they are today. This activity minimises waste and provides jobs for small and medium-sized industries.

Non-governmental organisations were consulted on the new legal notice bringing the deposit/return scheme into effect. Observers have praised the scheme as it provides a built-in mechanism to prevent the disposal and possible littering of millions of cans and bottles which is bound to happen if nothing is done. The scheme will fill an infrastructure gap in a system which so far has been lacking in incentives to recover or recycle packaging, relying on enforcement alone.