Stern warning over failure to recover packaging waste

Malta is still far from meeting its target of recovering 60 per cent of packaging waste by 2013 and risks facing EU infringement proceedings, the planning authority’s environment director warns.

The latest available data shows that in 2007 Malta only managed to recover 10 per cent of packaging waste put on the market. The target for this year is 53 per cent, rising to 56 per cent in 2011 and to 60 per cent in three years’ time.

The stark warning by Martin Seychell, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s environment director, comes in the wake of a deadline the authority is giving producers and importers to register the amount of packaging waste they put on the market.

Importers and manufacturers are obliged by law to register with Mepa but, despite the law being in place since 2007, the majority have still not complied. They now have until the end of January to register.

Mr Seychell said infringing environmental law was a criminal offence and defaulters faced fines and prison sentences.

Under EU regulations, the country is obliged to recover a proportion of packaging waste and the onus is on the producers of such waste to recover it for recycling purposes. Retailers are not affected by this obligation unless they are also importers, even if occasional ones.

Mr Seychell said a concerted drive was needed to remedy the situation.

Mepa unit manager Kevin Mercieca said each registered producer who did not have the mechanism to recover or recycle packaging waste could opt to join an authorised packaging waste recovery scheme. There were two such schemes run by GreenMT and Greenpak. These operators are obliged to keep an audit trail and must also engage an independent auditor to assess the scheme’s operations.

Some 280 producers are registered with Greenpak and 70 with GreenMT.

A few companies have declared they are self-compliant, meaning they opted to collect their packaging waste themselves. Even these companies have an obligation to keep an audit trail and engage independent assessors.

However, the vast majority of companies are not registered.

Mr Seychell said compliance inspectors were being recruited to bolster Mepa’s enforcement efforts.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com