BCRS bottle collection scheme extended to more localities

Some 145,000 beverage containers were collected through a door-to-door pilot project for the elderly and Blue Badge holders, and the initiative is now being extended to other localities, the environment ministry said.

The pilot project was announced just over a month ago and rolled out in Marsa, Kalkara, Għaxaq, Gudja, Mqabba, Qrendi, Birżebbuġa, Senglea, Vittoriosa, Valletta, Cospicua, Paola, Ħamrun,Lija, Balzan, Santa Luċija, Luqa, Floriana, Pietà, and Guardamanġa.

It is now being extended to Sta Venera, Żurrieq, Safi, Kirkop, Attard, Żabbar, Marsascala, Xgħajra, Mosta and Mġarr.  

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli and the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Cleansing, Glenn Bedingfield, announced the project's extension during a visit to Cospicua, where a mobile reverse vending machine was being used.

“When we launched the mobile RVM pilot project, our goal was to reach as many people as possible. It is rewarding to see rapid growth, with more localities included in the next phase of the initiative. This is just the beginning – with proper investment, we aim to expand this service throughout all of Malta,” Dalli said.

She added that access to fixed public machines has improved, with machines recording a 4,800-hour increase in operational time in just one month when compared to the same month last year. This gain resulted from measures taken to enhance site management by the operator and the support provided by Clean Malta, enabling machines to be emptied more frequently.

Pick-up bookings for the new localities will open on Tuesday and can be made from 8am to 8pmon all days of the week on number 1718 or by emailing bcrs.cleansing@gov.mt.