Deal on rates payable to collectors

The government and the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU yesterday reached an agreement over fees to be paid to waste carriers involved in the waste separation-at-source scheme, GRTU director general Vince Farrugia said.

However, the official date for the commencement of the long-awaited scheme has not been set yet.

"We have reached an agreement on the financial issues but we are still discussing the logistics of the scheme," Mr Farrugia told The Times when contacted shortly after leaving the meeting with Resources Minister George Pullicino.

Mr Farrugia explained that at the meeting it was agreed that during the 10-week experimental period, waste carriers would be paid a flat rate of €186 (Lm79.85) per trip applicable to all local councils and to be paid by the government.

Since it was not yet established when the scheme would become jointly managed by the private sector, fees for the interim period had been agreed upon.

During this period, waste carriers would be paid at the present rate according to the tender they were awarded by the local council where they operated. The rate would be augmented by an additional €23 (Lm9.87) per trip to cover expenses incurred because of the separation process, such as the washing of trucks, and fuel increases.

In addition, as of May 1, the rate payable now to waste carriers will be indexed according to the diesel supplement. The government would be footing the bill.

Mr Farrugia added that the GRTU hoped that yesterday's agreement would pave the way for the commencement of the scheme.

In February, the government announced that, as of this month, refuse trucks would be making a special collection for metal, plastic and paper, which will be placed together in special bags. The government will be funding the scheme for the first two months after which it will be largely financed by the private sector.

The scheme was originally meant to have started on April 1. The date was then moved to April 15 only to be postponed indefinitely to clear up several outstanding issues.

On Thursday, Local Councils Association president Michael Cohen said that during a meeting on Wednesday it was agreed that the scheme should start on May 5 in Gozo and in Malta the day after.

However, the GRTU did not commit itself on a launch date adding that, although the association and the government "have apparently resolved most issues", the GRTU was still at loggerheads with the government.

The two contrasting statements left one wondering whether or not a date for the commencement of the scheme had actually been set.

When contacted yesterday morning, Environment Director Chris Ciantar said that, during the various meetings, the GRTU had agreed with the government's position. The government also received the position of the association and "it seemed like there were no differences between the two".

However, no agreement was reached in meetings held earlier this week with the GRTU and the association. Dr Ciantar said a "minor" obstacle had emerged regarding the price of fuel. This seems to have been resolved yesterday evening.

Dr Ciantar stressed that, although the agreement had not been signed, contrary to what some may believe, all the negotiations so far were not in vain as meetings were still going on and this was part of the process.

When contacted, Mr Cohen said that the local councils were ready to start the scheme by May 5 and the special bags for the collection will be available at local councils from April 28.

Everything was set and arrangements had been made with waste collectors according to the price fixed by the GRTU, he said.