The date originally set to introduce the waste-separation-at-source scheme was ominous. Going for April 1 as the launch date almost said it all. Indeed, it started as a joke and continues to be such... It did not happen on April 1; neither did it get going on April 15 and now a new date, May 5, has been mentioned. Will it happen? Who knows? Is anyone surprised the whole thing is being held up by money?

The idea was based on the theory that polluters should pay. In this context the polluter is the entity that brings recyclable material into Malta, whether by importing or manufacturing.

The plan was that a fee based on the amounts involved is paid and this money would be used to collect the waste and recycle it, thereby preventing it from getting into the waste stream.

Companies were to be refunded as long as they collected 80 per cent of the waste they had generated. Money would be raised from the sale of recycled material, like plastic, which money could be ploughed back into the scheme. Other materials could be shredded or ground and re-used in Malta in a variety of ways, reducing the need to import yet more materials.

The problems started when too many other entities got involved. Also some items were left out of the scheme. For example, plastic bottles were included but not shrink-wrapping. Neither were wooden pallets, which can also be recycled. Glass was also left out of the collection (although still subject to a fee), ostensibly because of the danger of collecting it.

The powers-that-be were fixated with the idea of having all recyclable waste collected on one day in Malta and another day in Gozo. Was this logical considering that one could be speaking of something like 40 per cent of domestic waste being collected on one day but having daily collections for the remaining 60 per cent? That would mean having all the trucks queueing up to offload at Sant'Antnin on the same day. Indeed, will there be enough trucks to cope with that volume on one day?

The cost of the bags was then put into the equation. Pilot schemes in Swieqi, for example, operated very successfully with bags provided free through the local council. Councils stand to benefit from having recyclable waste taken off their hands and, hopefully, kept out of their bring-in sites. Has any study been conducted to establish whether consumers will be willing to buy their own bags? Cannot retailers be encouraged to provide shopping bags that could be used for the recyclable waste, just as carrier bags are used for rubbish now? Also, why not put the three types of waste into three different bags so that their contents are visible and easily sorted, instead of chucking everything into one bag which needs to be opened at the other end?

One would have thought that such a discussion and feedback was behind the pilot projects run by councils like Swieqi.

Somewhere along the line, too many cooks got involved. Has the broth been spoiled to such an extent that one has to start all over again?

First of all, for a scheme to work it has to cover all packaging and recyclable materials. That means that all those who generate the waste have to pay into the scheme.

Secondly, the scheme should ideally be run by a non-profit-making organisation, whereby savings are ploughed back as incentives to encourage more efficiency.

Do councils really need to get involved in the financing? Admittedly, collection has to be integrated into the council's normal schedule in a sensible way with their authorisation. But could it not be run by the scheme itself by sub-contracting collectors directly? The money from the fees could then be retained to pay refunds rather than letting it get lost in a bigger pot.

Thirdly, an aggressive information campaign is needed to prick everyone's conscience.

What started as a joke should have been a very serious matter.