Exports of recycled waste seem to be dropping, according to figures released in Parliament, but collection is doing better than ever, GreenPak said on Friday.

Government entity Wasteserv is responsible for managing recycled waste, not collecting it, GreenPak CEO Mario Schembri explained.

Read: Volume of recycled materials drops by nearly half

In fact, the cooperative last year recovered 22,136 tonnes of waste, a 25 per cent increase over 2016.

The cooperative collects more than 70 per cent of local councils' waste and a good portion of this is sent to the treatment facilities of Wasteserv.

“It was particularly encouraging to note that in 2017 we collected 3,378 tonnes of plastic waste resulting in a nine per cent increase over 2016. This means we have managed to recover the equivalent of 57 per cent of the plastic packaging our business partners put on the market,” he said.

Reacting to the figures released in Parliament, Ing. Schembri said the drop in Wasteserv’s exportation figures could be a consequence of the large fire that engulfed most of the Sant’ Antnin waste treatment plant last year.

Wasteserv, he said, was now operating from smaller plant, which meant it took longer to export bigger stockpiles.

“I’m not alarmed by the rate of recycling in Malta. As a country there has been a marked improvement in people’s attitudes and behaviour, even though we could be moving at a quicker rate,” Mr Schembri said.

“As GreenPak we are committed to protecting the environment and we welcome Environment Minister Jose Herrera's recent announcement that the government is working on new laws to make recycling compulsory,” he added.