One man's waste
Households will soon be separating their waste for collection but what happens to it at the other end? Well, that all depends, the managing director of Green Skip Services Mary Gaerty said. The company is constantly trying to find viable uses for...
Households will soon be separating their waste for collection but what happens to it at the other end? Well, that all depends, the managing director of Green Skip Services Mary Gaerty said.
The company is constantly trying to find viable uses for recycled material. For example, it shreds wooden pallets to make mulch for landscaping - which they are using outside their own offices - or sawdust. She pointed to a towering pile of mattresses, which were also awaiting shredding (after the metal is removed).
"This reduces the volume before they go to the landfill. But it seems such a shame that the shredded material is not used as fuel for machines like incinerators. It have a very high calorific value and could save energy," she said.
Glass can be ground and used in a number of different ways, ranging from road construction to concrete but the company has simply not been able to get projects off the ground.
"It is very frustrating because the only alternative is then to export it and the money it fetches on the market does not cover the cost of transport, packing, export etc.
"It is such a shame. We understand that the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) had tried glass ground to different sizes for use as road base instead of gravel. We heard that the tests were positive and hope that the ADT will go ahead. It would help Malta in two ways: We would not have to import more gravel and we would not have to export used glass," she said.
Plastic and metal are easier as the price they fetch justifies the cost of exporting. This leaves cardboard, which is compressed and baled for export.
"It has some uses such as animal bedding and packaging but most of it just gets re-exported," she said.
Of course, these materials are only part of the waste stream that has to be dealt with - rather than landfilled. Green Skip Services also handles hazardous waste from industry, such as chemicals, solvents and expired pharmaceuticals. These require considerable bureaucracy.
"Hazardous waste also includes electrical and electronic equipment and white goods. Once they are no longer working, they fall under one of the 10 categories of hazardous waste. So, for example, refrigerant gases have to be removed. There is a long way to go. The EU estimates that 4kg per person of electrical and electronic equipment should be recycled and we are nowhere near that!"
As with every industry, there are constant battles for rules to be enforced. For example, even though the civic amenity site is not meant for industrial waste, it is quite telling that there has been a reduction in the number of skips ordered by companies in Mrieħel since Wasteserv opened its site there.
"Reports have been made about vans driving up there with loads of cardboard. Was this the intention behind the CA site? Why would a company pay for a skip if they can unload their packaging free of charge?" Ms Gaerty said.
However, she laments more than just the loss of orders.
"Waste management is not yet seen as an industry in Malta, as has happened in the other countries which joined the EU in 2004."
Historical highlights
Green Skip Services was set up in May 1992 by sisters Doris Sammut and Mary Gaerty.
"A friend of ours in Luton ran a skip service in the UK and he was keen to look beyond the somewhat tepid market there. We did a bit of market research and found that there was no skip service in Malta. There were collectors galore but the only skips were at the Drydocks," Ms Gaerty said.
They decided to set up a joint venture, investing their family money, with two trucks and around 20 skips. Working from Burmarrad, they focussed on commercial and industrial waste - not domestic - which was in those days taken to Magħtab.
Over the coming years, they went to conferences and seminars at every opportunity, learning more and more about the business. They were in constant contact with clients, persuading them to consider waste separation, for example.
As business grew, they bought an eight tumoli plot in Magħtab and by 1996, they had a permit for a materials reclamation facility. They had by then bought out their British partner and were providing numerous additional services, including wheelie bins of various sizes. They extended their service to clinical waste, which requires a comprehensive tracking procuedure, and bought grinders and shredders to deal with recyclable waste.
The company now has 11 vehicles in all, including the skip-loaders, compactors and trucks, with another on the way. Another company, GS Rec Ltd, was also set up to deal with recycling and export.
In all, the company employs 21 people.
The company is constantly trying to find viable uses for recycled material. For example, it shreds wooden pallets to make mulch for landscaping - which they are using outside their own offices - or sawdust. She pointed to a towering pile of mattresses, which were also awaiting shredding (after the metal is removed).
"This reduces the volume before they go to the landfill. But it seems such a shame that the shredded material is not used as fuel for machines like incinerators. It have a very high calorific value and could save energy," she said.
Glass can be ground and used in a number of different ways, ranging from road construction to concrete but the company has simply not been able to get projects off the ground.
"It is very frustrating because the only alternative is then to export it and the money it fetches on the market does not cover the cost of transport, packing, export etc.
"It is such a shame. We understand that the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) had tried glass ground to different sizes for use as road base instead of gravel. We heard that the tests were positive and hope that the ADT will go ahead. It would help Malta in two ways: We would not have to import more gravel and we would not have to export used glass," she said.
Plastic and metal are easier as the price they fetch justifies the cost of exporting. This leaves cardboard, which is compressed and baled for export.
"It has some uses such as animal bedding and packaging but most of it just gets re-exported," she said.
Of course, these materials are only part of the waste stream that has to be dealt with - rather than landfilled. Green Skip Services also handles hazardous waste from industry, such as chemicals, solvents and expired pharmaceuticals. These require considerable bureaucracy.
"Hazardous waste also includes electrical and electronic equipment and white goods. Once they are no longer working, they fall under one of the 10 categories of hazardous waste. So, for example, refrigerant gases have to be removed. There is a long way to go. The EU estimates that 4kg per person of electrical and electronic equipment should be recycled and we are nowhere near that!"
As with every industry, there are constant battles for rules to be enforced. For example, even though the civic amenity site is not meant for industrial waste, it is quite telling that there has been a reduction in the number of skips ordered by companies in Mrieħel since Wasteserv opened its site there.
"Reports have been made about vans driving up there with loads of cardboard. Was this the intention behind the CA site? Why would a company pay for a skip if they can unload their packaging free of charge?" Ms Gaerty said.
However, she laments more than just the loss of orders.
"Waste management is not yet seen as an industry in Malta, as has happened in the other countries which joined the EU in 2004."
Historical highlights
Green Skip Services was set up in May 1992 by sisters Doris Sammut and Mary Gaerty.
"A friend of ours in Luton ran a skip service in the UK and he was keen to look beyond the somewhat tepid market there. We did a bit of market research and found that there was no skip service in Malta. There were collectors galore but the only skips were at the Drydocks," Ms Gaerty said.
They decided to set up a joint venture, investing their family money, with two trucks and around 20 skips. Working from Burmarrad, they focussed on commercial and industrial waste - not domestic - which was in those days taken to Magħtab.
Over the coming years, they went to conferences and seminars at every opportunity, learning more and more about the business. They were in constant contact with clients, persuading them to consider waste separation, for example.
As business grew, they bought an eight tumoli plot in Magħtab and by 1996, they had a permit for a materials reclamation facility. They had by then bought out their British partner and were providing numerous additional services, including wheelie bins of various sizes. They extended their service to clinical waste, which requires a comprehensive tracking procuedure, and bought grinders and shredders to deal with recyclable waste.
The company now has 11 vehicles in all, including the skip-loaders, compactors and trucks, with another on the way. Another company, GS Rec Ltd, was also set up to deal with recycling and export.
In all, the company employs 21 people.