Green Pak Cooperative Society is encouraging organisations, businesses and merchants who trade electrical and electronic goods to sign up with Green Pak’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Compliance Scheme before the end of August to avoid incurring hefty fines.
Since 2007, these companies, referred to as ‘obliged companies’, have been obliged to recycle those products listed in Legal Notice 204 of 2014 as they are legally bound to recycle them once customers dispose of them when they are no longer needed.
The list of equipment incurring recycling obligations is wide and varied, including large household appliances (fridges, washing machines, air-conditioning units); small household appliances (kettles, toasters, radios, hairdryers); IT and telecommunications equipment (computers, televisions, modems, printers, MP3 players); consumer equipment (digital cameras, clocks, musical instruments); PV panels; lighting equipment; electrical and tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control equipment; and automatic dispensers.
Green Pak Coop Society CEO Mario Schembri said: “The best way for an obliged company to meet its legal and environmental obligations is to join a trusted and fully compliant WEEE Compliance Scheme, such as that offered by Green Pak – building on the success of its widely-used packaging recycling system which already services over 1,300 companies, while providing recycling services to over 70 per cent of the Maltese population.
“Organisations stand to benefit when joining the scheme. Besides providing peace of mind, an obliged company will avoid incurring heavy fines, effective from September 1, besides the added benefit of not having to pay the eco-contributions. Mepa requires individual companies to present financial guarantees calculated at €210 per tonne of electrical products sold to ensure that the company is recycling its WEEE products. Green Pak is able to provide this financial cover at no extra cost, either to the trader or its customers.”
For those organisations that register their company with a fully compliant and officially recognised WEEE scheme by August 31, the authorities are granting a waiver absolving them from their past recycling obligations dating back to 2007. Green Pak is recommending that interested organisations and businesses register their company with the scheme by August 24.
Green Pak is run as a cooperative society and its scheme is managed on a not-for-profit basis, providing total transparency in the way it goes about its business.
For application forms and more information, one can visit www.weee.com.mt, call 2166 1081 or e-mail info@weee.com.mt.