Beverage recycling company BCRS has donated six electric cars to the state-run Silver-T transportation service for the elderly. 

The service enables senior citizens to run errands without relying on family or friends and the BCRS donation is intended to provide elderly people with a way of reaching BCRS hubs or local stores to return empty beverage containers and get their deposit back. 

The new service was announced by Active Ageing Minister Jo-Etienne Abela in a press conference on Tuesday.

The conference was also addressed by BCRS chairman Pierre Fava, who said Silver-T can now more than double its services to cover all 68 localities in Malta and Gozo. Currently, the service is only offered in 25 localities.

Silver-T was also extending the service to include BCRS, addressing any mobility issues elderly people may face in reaching one of the more than 50 public hub locations, Fava said.

Rolled out in 2018, the Silver-T service processes more than 700 requests monthly from elderly seeking to carry out their daily errands within the community.

BCRS is made up of the island’s beverage producers, importers and retailer associations. It was rolled out in November with the main objective being to reverse Malta’s low recycling rates and meet its EU targets.

The goal is to recover 70% of the 230 million containers placed on the market each year by 2023 and 90% by the end of 2026, for onward recycling in line with the principles of the circular economy.  To date, over 75 million empty containers have been collected through the reverse vending machines located at retail outlets and public hubs; through manual collection from stores; and those returned by hotels, restaurants, and catering establishments.

Another outcome is that more than 3,200 tonnes of recyclable materials have been exported to fully certified recycling companies in Europe.