How will the environment benefit from eco-contribution?

Products pollute when they become waste. As described last week, waste separation and eco-contribution complement each other because both principles, if applied correctly, will divert disused items from the general waste stream.

This will benefit the environment significantly because items that do not become waste do not occupy space for disposal but have their lifetime extended through recovery and recycling options.

The eco-contribution paid on the selection of products identified is sufficient to have the item treated in an environmentally acceptable way when it is disposed of. This in itself benefits the environment since the choice of items all have a significant impact when thrown into the general waste stream.

The list of items affected is not exhaustive but represents a significant proportion of the items that have in the past ended in the former dump sites of Maghtab and Qortin to be dealt with at much higher cost to the taxpayer and the environment.

The contribution is sufficient for government to recover, treat through de-polluting, dismantling, shredding/crushing, baling and/or storing before the material is shipped for recycling. This contribution also recovers the costs incurred to have this material exported, an activity that results due to the burden that this island faces due to economies of scale.

Notwithstanding this, the full benefit to the environment will occur when the private sector realises that it can actually recover the items from the waste stream at a much lesser cost than government is actually charging through this contribution. Once this occurs, and products will start to be marketed as forming part of a take-back scheme, customers will have a choice as to whether they pay such a contribution or not.

Eco-contribution will eventually influence the supply chain too. If an importer/producer forms part of a recognised take-back scheme, then he or she may opt for products that are easier to recycle. The privately owned take-back scheme itself may regulate the choice of items put on the market benefiting the environment. Any product that does not conform to the criteria of the take-back scheme will have to be disposed of at a potentially much higher cost to the waste producer.

For more information, visit www.wasteservmalta.com.

Dr Ciantar is head, Strategy and Development, at WasteServ Malta Ltd.