Refuse trucks will soon have to pay a heftier price to dump mixed waste in a landfill but the cost of separated waste is set to drop by 10 per cent.
The government will introduce the new tariffs in order to incentivise waste separation at source.
Trucks currently pay €0.77 for every ton of mixed waste landfilled at Għallis and the price of separated plastic for recycling at the Sant' Antnin Waste Treatment Plant costs €0.77 a ton.
The price is expected to increase to €20 per ton for the dumping of mixed waste at the landfill and to €2 per ton for separated waste dumped at Sant' Antnin. The €20 fee is expected to increase to €25 next year and €30 in 2011.
Wasteserv believes that a differentiated tariff system will make the distinction between separated waste and non-separated waste.
A company spokesman told The Sunday Times that the disposal fee for separated waste should be substantially cheaper so as to act as an incentive for the public and the industry to separate and recycle.
Furthermore, it also believes landfill disposal rates should reflect the true cost of landfilling, so that the service remains sustainable.
Costs have risen dramatically since October 1997, when the landfill fee was first introduced. It did not make sense to continue charging a fee based on outdated costs attributable to indiscriminate dumping carried out in a totally uncontrolled manner, the spokesman said.
At the time, the cost was around €280,000 but this figure increased to €6.5 million last year.
In Italy, for example, the landfill fees start from €60 per ton, which, when added to a government tax of €50, rises €110 per ton. UK fees start from €30, with €10 in taxes per ton, while fees in France start from €40 and has an additional tax of €30 for each ton.
The spokesman said households would not be affected by the increase in landfill charges as the government would pay the difference to local councils, which pay the contractors for the service.
However, local councils and commercial entities can save money if they invest in a proper campaign in their town or village promoting separation at source.
The aim of sustainable waste management is doing whatever one can to reduce the impact on the environment by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.