The recent declaration by Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino on delays in eco-tax exemptions to companies participating in organised recycling schemes has attracted comparisons with Cyprus.
The Ombudsman last week concluded that members of GreenPak, the largest local waste recovery scheme in Malta, have been entitled to eco-tax exemptions or tax credits since 2006. GreenPak’s operator Green Dot Malta initiated a complaint in 2009.
Green Dot Cyprus chief executive Kyriakos Parpounas said: “Here in Cyprus we have long understood the difficulties and high costs small islands face in the recycling industry.
“The government and the Chamber of Commerce of Cyprus had very early on realised that having one Green Dot system and no taxes was the best way forward for us. Results achieved so far are satisfactory. Last year, we achieved for the first time the 50 per cent minimum packaging recovery target set by the EU. Green Dot Cyprus is on the right track to improve even further on our achievements.”
Green Dot Cyprus, the national system for waste recycling, is also responsible for the recycling of electrical equipment on the island.
By contrast, Green Dot says Malta is doing very little in this area. As with packaging waste, EU member states have an obligation to recycle waste electrical and electronic goods. Malta has imposed a high eco-tax on these products with no mechanism for exemptions and this has kept recycling of such waste at bay.
“Since the publication of the Ombudsman’s declaration, we have been constantly receiving messages from both members and business leaders in Malta,” GreenPak chief executive Mario Schembri said.
“They are considering the Ombudsman’s opinion as an opportunity for a major turning point in Malta’s quest to put waste recycling on track and help Malta to get close to what other EU countries are achieving in terms of recycling.”
According to official EU statistics, Malta recycles the least in the EU, however it is still bound to meet the EU packaging recycling targets.
Cyprus is doing far better than Malta: According to the recently published official data by the European Commission, Cyprus had by 2008 recycled 35 per cent of its total packaging waste. In contrast, local official figures show that the amount of separated waste for recycling in 2009 was about 6.7 per cent of the total household waste, up from 5.5 per cent in 2008. This is far below the EU percentage of at least 60 per cent that Malta needs to reach by 2013.
Malta has also failed to send the relevant data to the European Commission leading to speculation that Malta will soon be facing infringement procedures.
“GreenPak, which today is run as a co-operative, on its part will continue to work towards redressing the country’s environmental imbalance. If not tackled with urgency, the problem of the poor recycling performance of Malta could come back to haunt us. The ball is now in the government’s court,” Mr Schembri warned.