Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/977918
48 Events maltatoday SUNDAY 6 MAY 2018 Farsons marks the delivery of its first beer to Qormi, 90 years ago FARSONS Brewery celebrated 90 years since the delivery of its first beer, Farsons Pale Ale, in April 1928 to Qormi, for the feast of St George, and marked this mile- stone with a reception at the Qor- mi Local Council. Emphasising Qormi's signifi- cance in this milestone, Farsons Group Chairman Mr Louis A Farrugia outlined the historical highlights that, over nine decades, connected the company with this locality. Drawing on similarities between bread baking, for which Qormi is well renowned, and brewing, Farrugia explained that beer is sometimes described as 'liquid bread'. As is the case of the Maltese loaf, the three main in- gredients of beer are yeast, wheat and water. Both bread and beer also need time to ferment. Both Qormi and Farsons went through some challenging times during the last century. Original- ly, the Farrugia family had estab- lished a flour mill and pasta mak- ing factory in Ħamrun, but when this mill was destroyed during the Sette Giugno riots in 1919, the fac- tory was changed into a carbon di- oxide-producing facility, called L. Farrugia and Sons Ltd," explained Farsons Chairman. Contact was made with the brewing industry through the supply of carbon dioxide, and the Farrugia brothers, on the advice of Luigi's son, Lewis V Farrugia, decided to venture into the thriv- ing beer market. They made the crucial decision of brewing beer themselves in Malta for the first time, rather than importing it. Their first brewery in Ħamrun was a brave and innovative step in the country's economic and in- dustrial history. As Qormi developed, so did Farsons. In 1929, brewers H. G. Simonds merged with Farsons, while in 1948, The Malta Export Brewery – which was then pro- ducing the popular 'Cisk' Lager – joined Simonds Farsons, and so Simonds Farsons Cisk Ltd was formed. "Qormi's motto Altior ab imo ('Rising from below') also mirrors Farsons' story. From a small brew- ery serving the Maltese market, today Farsons has become a diver- sified group of companies in the food and beverages sectors with an aspiration to become a leading player in the Mediterranean re- gion, and beyond," explained Mr Farrugia. To mark this 90th Anniversary, Farrugia announced that Farsons is sponsoring a set of paintings by artist Daniel Scerri. One of these paintings will be used as a First Day Cover when it is published by Maltapost in May. These paint- ings will be initially displayed at Dar Bjorn in Qormi, and subse- quently placed at Qormi Local Council offices. While thanking Farrugia and Farsons Board of Directors, Qormi Mayor Jesmond Aqui- lina said: "Our Local Council accepted Farsons' invitation to mark the 90th anniversary as the first beer was first delivered and sold specifically in our lo- cality. This occasion has an even greater significance for us as this year we are celebrating the 275th anniversary since Qormi was de- clared Citta' Pinto through a de- cree by Grand Master Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca. We appreciate and are very grateful for Far- sons' generous donation for the community, especially for those who love the arts and culture. We augur that other companies emulate this example by contrib- uting to the community as part of their corporate social respon- sibility." Guests at the event also had the opportunity to sample Farsons Gold Label Pale Ale, a special cel- ebration brew, ahead of its official launch in May. HSBC Malta card users win cashback TEN HSBC Malta credit card us- ers won up to €500 cashback fol- lowing a campaign which also rewarded five additional card members with further prizes. All customers who used their HSBC-issued credit cards for their shopping during the months of January and February and carried out a minimum of 10 transactions were automatically entered into a draw. The winners were Roberta Giorgio, Thomas L Zammit, Henry Brincat, John H Bray, Karen Fletcher, Andrew Borg, Owen Aquilina, Fortunato Said, Mary Mifsud, Martin Gauci, Laurie Pace, Bruno Cassar, Adri- an Gusman, Lorraine Farrugia and Louise Busuttil. The prizes were presented by HSBC Malta's Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Manage- ment, Daniel Robinson, follow- ing a competition held during the prize-giving ceremony. Rob- inson said: "As we said at the start of 2018, this is going to be a fantastic year for HSBC Malta customers and we will continue to offer more exciting rewards to our customers as a token of our appreciation". In October last year, HSBC became the first major bank in Malta to roll out contactless card technology, bringing con- venience to its Premier custom- ers who can avoid inputting PIN numbers and utilising cash for small transactions. Farsons Group Chairman Louis A Farrugia with Qormi Mayor Jesmond Aquilina addressing guests on the occasion of Farsons' 90th anniversary Winners with HSBC Malta officials MANMADE waste generation has exploded in the last 30 years. Single-use products like milk car- tons, fruit juice in Tetra-Pak bot- tles, disposable shaving blades, and countless other non-durable items are a major problem. Years after they are disposed of, they can still be found in our land- fills. But with the Maghtab at its peak, where does Malta's an- nual 248,784 tonnes of household waste go? The waste cycle is taxing – en- vironmentally, socially, and eco- nomically. The economic cost is of running the operation from our taxes is significant. The list of environmental costs includes air and sea pollution, high carbon emissions, and negative impacts on biodiversity and aesthetics. On a social level, citizens suffer foul smells from treatment facilities, the nuisance caused by collection trucks, and much more. All of this means treatment methods cannot be looked at in isolation – the so- lution needs to be holistic. In addition to this, the physical separation of our islands from mainland Europe limits our recy- cling capacity and resale oppor- tunities, meaning that recycling companies incur higher costs to transport materials. In a bid to amplify and facili- tate the conversation, Margaret Camilleri Fenech's research at the University of Malta and Univer- sita' Autonoma de Barcelona has measured existing flows in local waste management and packaged them into a clean visual. The flow charts detail the waste produced by Maltese households, and where it goes, giving a clear snapshot of where we stand, an important tool when planning for the future. Camilleri Fenech reports that 81% of all Maltese waste goes to landfill, a figure much higher than the 70% previously claimed. A new waste treatment facility is drastically changing that picture, reducing Malta's landfill to 38%. Although this is an improvement, it is far from a solution. These fig- ures should serve as an eye-open- er to policy makers. It is a problem with no simple solution, but in the long-term, households and companies sim- ply need to reduce their waste. Malta needs to tackle its waste streams and their sources sepa- rately. Policies need to be set for hotels and restaurants, hospitals, the manufacturing sectors and others depending on the waste they generate. Proper environmental and social accounting are an absolute neces- sity, because, whilst Malta's GDP shows vast economic growth, this is not synonymous with enhanced quality of life. Focusing wholly on GDP disregards that the economy profits from the natural, social, and human capital. Many chal- lenges lie ahead. For the full article by Dawn Gillies as published in THINK magazine, please visit: https:// www.um.edu.mt/think/where- does-it-go-a-snapshot-of-waste- management-in-malta/ A snapshot of waste management in Malta