Government 'owes' firm €4.5m in eco contributions

Recycling organisation GreenPak is considering legal action against the government over €4.5 million worth of eco contributions it says it is owed.

The news was reported by Brussels-based magazine European Environmental & Packaging Law (EE&PL) this week. GreenPak's CEO Mario Schembri told the magazine resorting to legal action was "not the ideal path" but was, perhaps, the only way to "unblock a stalemate with our government".

The eco tax law, introduced in 2004, gives companies the choice to pay the tax or recover the packaging of the material they sold and get a refund. Companies forming part of a scheme such as GreenPak were assured they would be exempted outright. But, to date, "none of these provisions have been implemented," Mr Schembri said. He has now asked for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister about the matter.

"For over four years we have been promised that eco tax refunds or exemptions will be given to companies that form part of a compliance scheme. To date nothing of this sort exists," he said.

The organisation wants companies that can prove they have recovered packaging materials to get their refunds or be exempted from the eco tax.

"The situation is senseless, especially since Malta has the lowest recycling performance in all of Europe," he said, adding that GreenPak's members had for years acted in a responsible and environmentally-friendly manner and should, therefore, be encouraged in this path rather than be treated "unfairly".