Updated Wednesday with BCRS statement

Restaurant owners are being forced to use their storage space to stack hundreds of bottles for the Beverage Container Refund Scheme (BCRS) instead of using it as storage for fresh produce, spices and canned goods. 

This situation is heavily burdening the catering industry and the way bottles are stored and disposed of for catering establishments has become a “laughable” scenario, the Association of Catering Establishment (ACE) secretary Matthew Pace said on Tuesday. 

“Restaurants have to store seven different types of waste in their store room,” he said, highlighting how waste collection implementations must be “completely revamped”.

“You have BCRS which collects three types of waste, WasteServ which collects others. Today, restaurateurs end up sacrificing their storage for waste separation purposes. This is a topic which is raised during every meeting.”

Pace was speaking to journalists during a press conference on the results of a survey commissioned by ACE.

Rolled out back in 2022, the BCRS scheme imposes a 10c deposit on most beverage containers, with that money reclaimed when bottles are recycled in BCRS-run reverse vending machines. 

Bars and restaurants have a separate business-to-business service with the company, and BCRS collects their beverage containers and returns the container deposit free of charge. 

Restaurateurs previously spoke to Times of Malta about the logistical headache back in 2022, yet two years on the issue persists. 

“The situation is laughable and ridiculous,” ACE head Michelle Muscat said. 

“We have our stores, with bags full of glass bottles, separate from the plastic bottles for BCRS,” she said. 

“Then there are bags with bottles which are not for BCRS, you have bags for organic waste, for normal waste. Our stores are full of sections of waste, it is very unfair.”

Pace said the situation "is getting out of hand." 

The association has held several meetings with both WasteServ and BCRS, yet the situation remains the same. 

On Wednesday ACE insisted the 'laughable and ridiculous' comment was a reference to the collection of waste in general, including recyclables and organic waste, and not solely the BCRS system.

BCRS highlights its initiatives

In a statement on Wednesday, BCRS system operators said it collected up to 25 bags of containers from catering establishments every month free of charge, and also provided businesses with the necessary bags.

Businesses can arrange collection through a specialised mobile app, a BCRS spokesperson said. Additional bags over and above the 25 monthly limit cost €3.50 in Malta and €4.20 in Gozo.

Catering establishments that seat fewer than 100 people can also apply for a reduction in credit terms from 120 to 30 days from the end of the collection period.   

It said the system was endorsed by the EU and was on track to collect 84% of relevant beverage containers this year, above the 80% target set for this year. 

At least 4,000 catering establishments

During Tuesday's event, ACE also flagged various other issues the sector is facing. 

A significant one is that there is just too much competition in the sector, coupled with a lack of workers, Pace said. 

There are at least 4,000 catering establishments on the island, he said, and it is difficult to find employees with the necessary skills to work in the catering industry.

“There is not enough supply for the very high demand,” he said. 

When asked about the recent Skills Pass initiative, Pace had mixed reviews. 

As of May, non-EU hotel, bar, and restaurant workers have been required to hold a skills card that costs €475 to work in the sector. 

Pace described the initiative as “spot on”, but said he feared it would have a negative economic impact on establishments. 

“Owners are the ones forking out the expenses of the Skills Pass so they can retain their workers,” he explained. Those costs will become apparent in the next ACE survey, he added.

ACE council member Christina Galea had a similar assessment, saying the Skills Pass will improve the quality of service but also introduced additional costs. 

“The industry should now focus on quality and regulated businesses, and ensure that establishments are operating in a fair environment,” she said.

Majority of owners forecast less than 10% growth 

The ACE survey asked owners of catering establishments of all levels - from cafeterias to fine dining restaurants - about the state of their business.

On average, respondents reported a 3% drop in profits compared to the previous year, on the back of a projected 1.1% drop in sales. 

Just over one in four respondents (27.8%) said sales were the same as last year. 

The survey was conducted through telephone and email interviews in September this year and focused on the first two quarters of the year (January- June). 

It was led by statistician Vincent Marmara. 

The reported average spend per customer stood at €25.89, with average spending rates varying depending on the type of establishment.

Customers at fine dining establishments spend an average of €55 while the average spend at a cafeteria or snack bar stood at €14.20. 

The survey showed that 55.9% of respondents said they invested in their restaurant in the last 12 months (July 2023-June 2024).

Restaurateurs do not have much appetite to invest in new ventures, though: 78% of owners said they did not intend to invest in a new restaurant venture in the coming year.