Eliminate plastic bottle use if you want to be credible on the environment, Zebbug councillor tells authorities

Independent Zebbug councillor Steve Zammit Lupi has called on the authorities to eliminate plastic use all together if they want to seem credible when implementing environmental policies.

“The biggest programme of social and environmental responsibility you can carry out is that of stopping the distribution of thousands and thousands of plastic bottles every day,” Zammit Lupi said in Facebook post.

His comments come after controversy continues to erupt around the new Beverage Container Refund Scheme which was introduced late in 2022.

The scheme, which is a modern-day reincarnation of a similar one that used to exist on re-usable glass bottles up until the early 2000s, is intended to minimise waste, but issues of machines which are full, the transportation of the plastic bottles and the added burden on consumers continue to crop up.

 After the container is deposited and accepted the machine will issue a receipt, which can be redeemed at a retailer which sells beverages or it can be donated to the Community Chest Fund.

Around 170 machines have been installed in 65 major retail outlets including all major supermarkets.

Taking to Facebook, Zammit Lupi said it is “useless” to call on people to recycle, when industries continue to produce millions of plastic bottles “because it benefits them financially.”

“Recycling alone is not enough. If there is truly the willingness (for a more sustainable system), the priority would be that of reducing plastic, or eliminating it all together,” Zammit Lupi said. “If you want to be credible, eliminate plastic from the market, and come up with alternatives.”

The Zebbug councilor, who is also a long-time environmental activist, said despite the new system, the majority of plastic bottles are still be thrown outside or in a dump, “or even worse, in the sea.”

“There is the need for politicians to enact legislation which bans the use of plastic bottles, and introduces re-usable containers which can be given back,” he said.

To highlight his point, the Zebbug councillor also posted a photo which shows “thousands” of plastic bottles ready to be sold to Pavi supermarket customers. “This is a common scene at Maltese supermarkets.”

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