GreenPak Coop Society is running a daily service to collect empty glass bottles in three localities on a trial basis until next Sunday. The service, available for bars and restaurants, runs along the seafront between Manoel Island, passing through The Strand, Qui-Si-Sana, Tower Road, Balluta Bay, and ends at Spinola Hill.
The free service runs daily at 1am, including Sundays. In its first three weeks it had alredy colleced over 20,000 empty glass bottles. The project is being run with the cooperation of Gżira, Sliema, and St Julian’s local councils and the Cleansing Services Department.
“In the summer months, consumption of beverages in bars and restaurants is at its highest,” said GreenPak CEO Mario Schembri. “Focusing on Malta’s most prominent promenade for this pilot project was a major challenge given that the logistics had to be correctly balanced. Running this daily service without worsening the heavy traffic on these busy roads, limiting public nuisance, and providing the least business interruption to these establishments were all elements that went into executing this pilot.
“GreenPak is very pleased that with the close collaboration of other partners, this pilot has been successful and valuable lessons learnt. More importantly, the project is diverting tonnes of waste away from landfill and avoiding rubbish on the streets.”