Close to 150 million beverage containers have been recycled since the introduction of the Beverage Container Refund Scheme nine months ago, successfully recouping plastic, glass and cans that would have littered Malta’s beaches and environment, the company behind the scheme said on Wednesday. 

An average of 900,000 containers are being collected every day this month,  BCRS said.

“These figures are something that all those who have the island’s environment at heart should celebrate because there has been a marked decrease of beverage containers strewn on our streets or dumped at sea, among others,” it added.

"Just last year, Malta was among the EU’s laggards, recycling just 20 per cent of the estimated 230 million beverage containers placed on the market every year. The introduction of the BCRS has turned this around and in less than a year it has surpassed the EU average of 41 per cent, successfully recouping 74 per cent of beverage containers."

BCRS said its teams were working round the clock to keep up with the huge numbers, as well as clearing its hubs every day and ensuring these are washed according to a weekly schedule.

CCTV systems overlooking the reverse vending machines are connected to the systems of the LESA enforcement agency, which has issued hundreds of littering fines.

“BCRS machines are just one of the solutions introduced to safeguard our environment and address the littering problem — irresponsible dumping outside reverse vending machines, other bring-in sites or overflowing bins have to be addressed through education and enforcement,” the company said.