Waste recovery scheme operators Green MT continue to maintain "earlier reservations” about a drink container refund scheme announced last week, the company told Times of Malta.
Green MT had warned that bottle deposit schemes did not always increase recycling rates, when the initiative was first brought up by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
Dr Muscat had announced an initiative, whereby people would receive a refund for plastic, glass and aluminium drink bottles and cans, during a speech back in February.
Green MT had criticised the suggestion, saying that such schemes have shown to be “costly and ineffective in unique societal and economic contexts”.
“Studies conducted way back clearly show that deposit schemes are expensive to run and maintain and do not offset the benefits,” the organisation said.
However, Green MT also said that the public consultation would help reduce Malta’s “litter problem”.
The Environment Ministry last week launched a public consultation that would see over 350 reverse vending machines installed in Malta by 2019.
Environment Minister Josè Herrera said the scheme was part of a holistic effort to tackle littering. An operator would be chosen to recover 70 per cent of containers in the first year of operation, he said.
A deposit of 10c will be added to the price of each beverage container. Consumers would need to place bottles or cans into the reverse vending machines to get the deposit back, he added.
However, Green MT nevertheless believes the scheme could create a fair and level playing field for all producers if regulated correctly.
“Industry and retailers have to put their past behind them and work together to establish a system with the best available technologies at the lowest of costs,” Green MT said.
Meanwhile, the GreenPak cooperative welcomed the initiative when it was announced last week.
“We believe the beverage container refund scheme is capable of having a positive impact once key issues are addressed to ensure that it is indeed effective,” GreenPak CEO Mario Schembri said.
“We are pleased to note that the government has already taken on board some of our early proposals, and GreenPak will continue to draw on expertise and members’ experience to provide further feedback,” he added.
However, the organisation warned that people still needed to understand that the use and misuse of glass, plastics and aluminium goes way beyond beverage containers.
It would take a collective effort on behalf of everyone to increase recycling in a meaningful way, GreenPak concluded.