Despite collecting more than four kilos of batteries per student, the Qala primary school was shocked when Wasteserv did not crown it winner of its fourth battery competition.

Defending the results, the waste management agency said the Gozitan school infringed competition rules because it unfairly included car accumulators and unspent batteries.

Wasteserv told The Times that only small household batteries were eligible for the competition.

To participate, students were required to put at least five batteries in a paper or plastic bag, which had to be deposited in the bin provided by the agency.

A spokeswoman said these bins are not large enough for car batteries and it was impossible to fit a minimum of five accumulators in a paper or plastic bag.

She added that accumulators were dangerous and should have never been entrusted to children.

The rules also noted that random tests would be carried out to check batteries were fully spent. These tests were carried out periodically by Wasteserv personnel.

But a spokeswoman from the Gozo college Qala primary school said the rules never specified what type of batteries had to be collected.

It added that tests to check whether the batteries were fully spent were carried out only after the school complained, and no school employees were present during these checks.

St Ignatius College, Luqa Primary, was announced as the competition winner last week after collecting 1.82 kilos of batteries per student.

However, the Wasteserv website said the Qala, Xewkija and Nadur schools had collected 4.17, 3.33 and 2.75 kilos per student respectively.

The Qala school spokeswoman questioned why another school had been awarded first prize without first clarifying that these three schools’ batches were being inspected.

A notice that the figures were in doubt was put up after the school contacted Wasteserv.

The agency said the schools in question had broken these rules and their results were not considered. Meanwhile, the company tried to downplay the issue since it believed the main objective of the competition was the spirit of participating in recycling.

The prize for the school that collected the largest amount of batteries (by weight per capita) was a €2,500 grant to improve school facilities.

But the Qala school spokeswoman said parents felt it was unfair on children and their relatives who had knocked on doors to collect batteries, which would have otherwise ended up in domestic trash.

Their laments were reiterated by Qala deputy mayor Paul Buttigieg, who said a resident had complained it was disheartening for her two children who had collected batteries from all over Victoria. Mr Buttigieg said he had also promoted the competition and worked hard to make sure the school would collect as many batteries as possible.

“It is unfair that although enlisted as the ones who collected the most batteries, someone else was awarded the prize.

“If there was a problem with the batteries, they should not have been accepted.”