Malta has the poorest recycling rate in the EU

-
As of Monday the 27th of November 2017, the Times Of Malta issued a piece claiming that Malta officially had the poorest recycling rate in the EU and that it had been getting worse by time. Was this a surprise? I think not. Malta or rather Maltese people have  made quite a mark on the fact that they do not give a squat about their environment. I'm sure that everyone has heard the infamous ''Not my problem!'' when they told someone to take care of the environment for their children's and grandchildren's sake. The situation outside is so bad the infamous environmentalist cartoon character Xummiemu gave up and moved to Sweden years ago!

The rate of recycling has gone down from 10% in 2012 to a disappointing 6.7% in 2015 and what has the government been doing to increase these rates? The Maltese would say; ''Boq'' or ''Ma nafx'', their overused terms translating to ''I don't know''.

All EU countries are actually meant to recycle at least 50% of their waste by the year 2020, but we still have ''a long way to go'', said Environment Minister José Herrera at a recycling campaign a few weeks ago.
“The waste management issue is a challenge the government faces, and more work on it is needed,” said Dr Herrera.
The recycling service GreenMT have even distributed half a million grey recycling bags to local councils so that residents of the area can pick their recycling bags up for free, so now you don't even have the opportunity to whine about the issue with your beloved neighbor.

Yet it's not all so bad. A national battery collection campaign called 'Batree' has been announced and various collection points have been distributed among local councils and schools around Malta and Gozo. Various locations around the island now also have blue bins for old and unwanted clothing to be recycled into. 

An electronic and electrical equipment waste recycling campaign known as 'WEEE Malta' has even been awarded the Best Practice in Recycling Award at the 2017 Malta Waste Reduction Awards. In 2016 GreenPak also reached the highest amount of funds generated, through 'WEEE Malta', the 'Batree' campaign and the 'packaging waste' scheme.

Due to the waste crisis and the issue that the current Maghtab landfill is expected to be filled within the next 2 years, the government is currently drafting laws in order to make recycling a compulsory act called 'The Circular Economy Act'. Isn't that great news after all?

Confused and not sure how to separate and recycle waste? Not to worry, the 'Don't waste waste' app can help you not only with these demands, but also with showing you your nearest bring-in-sites and even the pick-up schedules!

Comments

  1. Chris Grillo30 November 2017 at 11:36

    Perhaps the government could introduce a more regular pickup of the grey recycling bag, say every two days instead of the insipid once weekly collection. Just look at our bag, it is always close to exploding by the time Tuesday comes around.

    And as for the bags themselves, a paltry half-million will not cut it. That's just about one bag per person on the island.

    More SHOULD be done, and I believe that more IS being done by residents. But does the recycling result include the waste from historic buildings being pitifully torn down to make way for soul-less concrete pigeon boxes?

    Thanks though, a good read. Subscribed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Introduction to me and my Blog

-
To briefly introduce myself my name is Roxanne Grillo, I am 19 and currently in my first year of studies at the University of Malta. My course is a B.A in Communication Studies and English. I have always had a love for the English language and its literature and that has led me to where I am today. The concept of studying Communication Studies has only been but very recent.  I generally prefer staying indoors with my cats and a good film or TV show. I enjoy baking and being creative in the culinary arts, but most of all I enjoy eating. I love collecting makeup products, just as much as I enjoy collecting books. I also seem to find great pleasure in organising and cleaning and could spend hours doing so. I generally spend my time trying to communicate with my cats and watching YouTube videos. As much as I enjoy eating I also enjoy the aspect of nutrition, especially through studying Home Economics at A-level standard, but if you ever find me at the gym be quick and call a doctor.
Read more

An extension of hunting hours is limiting park visiting hours

-
Image
The national Majjistral Park is in a plea, after both the Nationalist party and the Labour party vote in favour of increasing hunting and trapping hours . So much so that the public can no longer enjoy the park without risking getting their heads shot off. Majjistral is the first legal 'N ational Nature and History Park' that was set up by the Malt ese government. Funding is minimal but the initial scope is to keep capitalist spectators away from the sight and eradicate any future 'golf course' proposals.  Compromises however had to be initiated, especially for the bird hunters who in Malta know no boundaries. At first the hunters were allowed to make use of the area  till nine in the morning and later an hour for their enjoyment was added. A recent notice however has extended the hours to twelve thirty and trappings till two thirty in the afternoon on weekdays.  The initial idea was that till nine in the morning barely any visitors would attend the park and any
Read more