Fifty-three member companies of GreenPak, operators of the largest waste recovery scheme in Malta, are exempt from paying eco tax contributions.

GreenPak said it applied for an eco tax exemption on behalf of its member companies on September 3. The applications were made to the recently-formed Approving Body whose role is to determine which companies are entitled to be exempted from the payment of eco contributions. The criteria are set out in Legal Notice 84/2010 which, among other requisites, demands that companies form part of a waste recovery scheme approved by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and participate in the financing of the recycling of packaging waste.

GreenPak was established in 2005 and now has over 300 member companies working together under a cooperative society that helps finance the waste recovery schemes in many localities in Malta and Gozo.

GreenPak CEO Mario Schembri, said: “This is a big milestone for waste recovery and recycling in Malta. It should also significantly contribute towards improving Malta’s recycling performance, which stands at 10 per cent.”

The Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic states, that joined the EU together with Malta in 2004, boasted of a recycling performance ranging from 47 per cent to 64 per cent, GreenPak said. Cyprus recycles over 25 per cent of its waste.

Mr Schembri said GreenPak was now looking forward to “rapid progress” on the payment of refunds by the government for eco tax paid by companies since 2006. Since 2006, through its uninterrupted operations, GreenPak scheme recovered over 10 million kilograms of packaging waste, diverting them from landfills in Malta.