GreenPak Coop’s second annual general meeting on Monday will deal extensively with the eco-contribution exemption issue.

Earlier this year, the Ombudsman, former Chief Justice Joseph Said Pullicino, declared the government’s excuses to deny eco-tax exemptions to companies participating in organised recycling schemes were unacceptable and could lead to abuse. In a complaint initiated in 2009 by GreenPak, the Ombudsman concluded that all its members since 2006 were entitled for eco-tax exemptions or tax credits.

Last April, the government published a Legal Notice that enabled companies that had participated in an authorised waste recovery scheme between 2005 and 2008 to claim their eco-tax.

GreenPak Coop operates one of the largest authorised packaging waste recovery schemes in Malta in line with the Waste Management (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations and has operated uninterruptedly since 2006. It currently represents more than 700 members under the cooperative banner of “legal compliance at the least possible cost”.

All companies trading in Malta are obliged to recover the packaging waste generated by their business activity. Producers participating in GreenPak Coop’s scheme do not need to do this as waste will be recovered on their behalf through a nationwide scheme.

The meeting will be held at the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry’s premises in Valletta.

The event will also provide an opportunity for the cooperative members to become shareholders of the GreenPak Coop, where the rights are granted to participate in important decisions such as voting and sharing of profits.