19,000 tonnes of recyclable material returned to economy

The national waste agency WasteServ has surpassed a projected record of processed recyclables with around 19,000 tonnes of good quality recyclable material processed and returned to the economy in 2021.

Environment minister Aaron Farrugia said the encouraging results were proof of the work carried out at WasteServ where management and employees were improving country’s performance when it comes to waste management.

Together with the Long-term Waste Management Plan recently published, and the €500 million investment in the ECOHIVE project, Malta is now headed for a circular economy that creates resources from waste without being dependent on landfills.

WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca praised all employees. “Without them this success would not have been possible. This result will give WasteServ more courage to continue working so that next year it can build on and increase these numbers.”

Bilocca also emphasised the importance of proper waste separation,

Malta’s two recycling waste collection schemes – the GreenPak and GreenMT firms – deliver recyclable waste to national agency WasteServ at the rate of €48 per tonne.

WasteServ however also charges the firms €20 for every tonne of delivered material that cannot be recycled.

Earlier this year, WastServ carried out large-scale trials that determined that the materials that cannot be recycled amounted to 35%. These included clothing, bulky waste, electronic equipment, and even hazardous and clinical waste.

GreenMT, a scheme operated by the Chamber of SMEs, welcomed the audits as a way of topping EU scoresheets in the field. “As private citizens we all need to do our bit. Although we have seen the public steadily taking up the challenges to separate waste, clearly, we still have a long way ahead… WasteServ’s approach to paying only for recyclables received at their facility is supported by GreenMT.”

WasteServ has refused to pay wasts collectiong schemes for bad and non-recyclable waste, saying this would be “tantamount to misappropriation of public funds.”

GreenPak and GreenMT collect recyclables through green/grey bag collections, monthly door-to-door glass collections, while GreenPak operates iBiNs, the smart bins network found across the islands for separate glass, plastic, paper and metal waste.