Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/885114
maltatoday, TUESDAY, 10 OCTOBER 2017 Budget 2018 12 Environment & wealth distribution Government announces creation of new environment agency PREPARATIONS are underway this year to establish an environ- mental agency, 'Ambjent Malta', which aims to care for and safe- guard the natural heritage Through the agency, the gov- ernment will be focusing on implementing the management of Natura 2000 sites, and will endeavour to make its environ- mental campaign more accessible to people. It will also promote a green infrastructure for urban zones. Furthermore, enforcement will be stepped up and higher fines will be introduced to increase discipline among the Maltese and to lead to a cleaner country. 4,000 trees to be planted each year STARTING from next year, the government will be planting a tree in the name of every child born in Malta. This measure, meant to improve the natural surroundings, will involve the planting of around 4,000 trees a year. DESPITE efforts to encour- age waste separation, only a small percentage of people are doing this, the govern- ment said. If nothing hap- pens to change this, Malta will need 80 tumoli of land every 10 years for waste disposal. The government has thus announced it will be invest- ing in a large-scale infra- structural project, costing more than €150 million, to generate energy from waste. The government has formed a committee of in- ternational experts to ad- vise in this regard, and has said it hopes the opposition would accept to participate in it. Scheme for collection of organic waste and bottles The government is starting discussions with the private sector to operate a deposit sys- tem for glass and plastic bot- tles. A refund will be given to those who return or deposit such bottles. The aim of this is to promote recycling. Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat announced last week that the price of soft drinks will increase as part of the scheme. The government had also said it would extend the or- ganic waste collection scheme, which has already been put in- to effect in a third of localities, to the rest of localities in Malta and Gozo. Organic waste will be collected in white bin-bags. Investment of €150 million in waste-to-energy project FOR the first time in seven years, fos- ter carers will see a €30 weekly in- crease to their allowance bringing it up to €100. Adoptive parents will also receive financial support, who will next year start receiving up to €10,000 to help cover adoption-related expenses. The government will also be giving orphans a full allowance until the age of 21. These measures – amongst others such as the extra vacation leave for workers and the increase in mini- mum wage – have been described by the Labour government as the way by which it was redistributing eco- nomic wealth. Small and medium enterprises will also benefit from this wealth distri- bution, as the VAT exempt thresh- old will now increase to €20,000 from €14,000. In parallel, the gov- ernment will strengthen its joint enforcement task force to fight tax evasion. For parents who work, the in-work benefit will increase to €450 per child, whilst the lowest rate will in- crease to €75 per child. Participants of the community worker scheme will see their salary increase by a monthly €200. First increase for foster carers in seven years