Trolleys introduced for disposal of waste electric and electronic equipment

Small electric equipment, such as laptops, mobile phones, small appliances, power tools and electronic toys, can be disposed of in specially-designed trolleys, under a new scheme launched on Tuesday by WEEE Malta.

In this first phase of the project, 60 trolleys were provided to a number of local councils, schools, colleges, businesses and retail outlets, which will serve as collection points for waste electric and electronic equipment.

Any handheld item that requires a plug or batteries to operate can be dropped off in the trolleys, which WEEE Malta hopes to increase to 300 in the next three years.

WEEE Malta would be emptying the trolleys on site and transporting the waste to WEEE-accredited facilities, approved by the Environment and Resources Authority.

During a press conference at Qormi local council, which is participating in the project, WEEE Malta chief operations officer Sergio Mallia said that small items like toys, tools, small appliances, and IT equipment were being either hoarded or disposed of in the black bags and sent to the landfill instead of being recycled.

“Every year a substantial amount of all small electrical items are thrown into domestic waste,” he said. “If everyone made an effort and disposed of these items either in these trolleys or at civic amenity sites, we would see a big impact on recycling rates in Malta, hence saving our environment.”

WEEE Malta is also taking part during this  year’s European Week for Waste Reduction from 19 to 27 November, and has introduced a  FreePhone number – 8007 4444 – for residents to call for free door-to-door WEEE collection.

WEEE Malta will be donating €1 to Dar Tal-Providenza for every piece of waste electric & electronic equipment collected, up to a maximum of  €10,000.

Qormi mayor Rosianne Cutajar said that the local council was committed to the protection of the environment and had undertaken a number of initiatives including the collection of clothes and the introduction of mobile CCTV at a number of sites.

Stefan Buontempo, parliamentary secretary for local government commended WEEE Malta for this initiative and urged more local councils to participate in the project. 

He said that the progress achieved in these last years through the cooperation of several stakeholders showed that more educational initiatives for the public were needed, instead of opting for heavy enforcement.