Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/977918
maltatoday SUNDAY 6 MAY 2018 News 5 YANNICK PACE MALTA used to be an island whose consum- ers eagerly recycled glass bottle containers – a refund system ensured the collection of glass bottles by soft drinks retailers, that would wash them and refill them for re-use. The liberalisation of the market and the in- troduction of plastic PET containers after EU accession in 2004 changed everything. Malta then had 55 million glass bottles in circulation, which were replaced in their entirety by plas- tic bottles. Labour leader Alfred Sant, cam- paigning against EU membership in 2002, had warned of a plastic "invasion". Today, four of every five drink containers used in Malta are thrown away and not recy- cled, despite the high environmental cost of producing plastic and a wealth of information on the need for recycling. And when it comes to cans? 19 out of every 20 are not being recycled. With the country struggling to meet its recy- cling targets, the government has announced plans to implement a bottle recovery scheme that aims to increase the rate of recycling of drink containers to 70% by 2020. Environment minister Jose Herrera says the government wants the scheme to "instil a change in mentality in the population". And with good reason. At 14%, Malta's rate of drink bottle recycling is far lower than countries like the UK which recycles 57% of containers used and which re- cently also declared its intention to implement a similar system. The Maltese scheme, developed by environ- mental consultants Euromia, will see produc- ers obliged to add a €0.10c deposit to the price of drinks, which consumers can get back by placing the used container in a reverse vend- ing machine (RVM). The operator of the scheme, to be chosen by tender, will install a minimum of 350 RVMs around Malta and Gozo for the scheme to work – roughly one RVM for every 1,500 peo- ple on the island, including tourists. Similar systems exist in many countries around the world, including 15 EU countries, a majority of Canadian and Australian states, and 10 US states, all of which have implement- ed or announced plans to implement some form of bottle refund system. While most countries have faced resistance from retailers and producers, who under- standably fear a drop in sales as a result of higher prices, in the vast majority of places where schemes have been implemented, re- covery rates tend to exceed 70%. Germany, Norway and Sweden, for example, all recover over 90% of the drink containers used. While some schemes were not immediate- ly successful, small changes can make a big difference and help achieve better results. For instance, Oregon's recovery scheme ini- tially had a 59% recovery rate, but when the deposit paid per container was increased, the recovery rate rose to 82%. Finding the right balance The former CEO of the Water Services Cor- poration Marc Muscat – today a consultant to Herrera – says the key to a successful scheme is finding a balance between a deposit price that is high enough to incentivise people to use the system, while ensuring the machines are convenient and easy to use. The authorities, he said, wanted to avoid having to force people to use the machines by raising the deposit price too high. At €0.10c, the deposit being proposed for Malta is similar to the €0.63c paid in Australia, €0.22c in Germany and the €0.10c in Norway, but it is not a guarantee that Malta will experi- ence the same positive results. The plan is to oblige owners of shops larger than 150sq.m. to house RVMs but given that a good part of the scheme's details will de- pend on the selected operator, it is not clear where the 350 machines will be placed: would outdoors-RVMs encourage more recycling as bring-in sites do for different sorts of trash? "A lot will depend on the creativity of the bid- ders for the project," Muscat said when asked about locations being considered, and whether machines would be placed in public spaces. He acknowledged that an individual walking in the street might not bother entering a shop to throw away a bottle, but stressed that there were many potential locations that were con- venient for consumers. Muscat hopes diligent users of the RVMs will condition others to think twice before discard- ing bottles irresponsibly. It's definitely a ques- tion of communal effort. "You could hold on to a bottle and keep it in your car and deposit it when you're at the next service station," he says, by way of example. "So, if someone still decides to litter, at least others have an incen- tive to pick it up." The successful RVM bidder will also be re- sponsible to ensure a 70% recovery rate by 2020, against the threat of penalties. The request for proposals for the RVM tender in June has already stoked some dis- quiet: the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri has had to play down links to his business partner's interest in RVM technol- ogy. Malcolm Scerri is general manager of Schembri's Kasco Holdings Ltd. Scerri owns 100% of the company Thoughtzone Ltd, which in turn wholly owns Acumen Projects Limited, which officially represents Norwe- gian company Tomra, market pioneers in re- verse vending technology. In comments to the Times, the OPM insist- ed that Schembri had nothing to do directly or indirectly with Tomra or any other company that could supply reverse recycling vending machines. "Any suggestions to that effect were false and malicious," it said. ypace@mediatoday.com.mt Over a decade from the 'plastic invasion', a recycling breakthrough