People who can’t get around easily, including older adults, are being forced to lose money under the new bottle recycling scheme, the commissioner for the elderly has said.

These people are unable to carry bags of uncrushed plastic bottles to the machines to reclaim the 10c deposit that is rightfully theirs, Godfrey Laferla told Times of Malta.

He said that, very often, people with restricted mobility have someone to deliver their groceries for them. So they are not in a position to make the trip to return their bottles.

A 10c voucher from the BCRS machine.

“10c for each bottle might sound like a bit but they add up, especially if you have people on low pensions. Why are they being made to pay the extra tax if they can’t return the bottles,” Laferla asked.

He called for special provisions or services so that these people can get their money back.

The scheme, which came into force a few weeks ago, is run by a consortium made up of the country’s largest beverage manufacturers and importers, BCRS (Beverage Container Refund Scheme) Malta Ltd.

Through the scheme, customers pay an additional 10c per beverage container, including aluminium or steel beer cans and plastic water or soft drink bottles.

The 10c refund is received in the form of a coupon when the containers are disposed of at one of the BCRS’s 320 reverse vending machines around the islands. Bottles or tins must not be crushed when inserted into the machines.

BCRS receives the 10c per container as soon as it is placed on the market but keeps the fee for any containers that are not recycled. It also pockets any money earned by exporting bottles or cans for recycling. 

In a column published in Times of Malta, Kevin Cassar noted the social injustice caused by the scheme in cases of elderly and people with mobility issues, among others.

“This category of our population will have no option but to forfeit the 10c on each bottle. They will be forced to pay. Many lack the transport, strength and energy. Others simply cannot. What are their options? Only two: either stop consuming those products which are part of the BCRS scheme or pay Labour’s tax. And make BRCS richer,” Cassar wrote.

All this comes in the context of the recent figures issued by the National Statistics Office just last week that showed a fifth of the Maltese population living in private households were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2021.

This is equivalent to around 85,754 persons. The largest share, 28 per cent, was registered among elderly persons.

The same issue is impacting people from low-income families as well as people with disabilities.

A spokesperson for Caritas said “we have encountered elderly persons who are housebound or have difficulty with mobility who have expressed this concern with us”.

Similarly, a spokesperson for the Commission for Persons with Disabilities said they were looking into the matter and added that “accessibility or reasonable accommodation should be provided for persons with disability”.

'Why should I be taken advantage of?'

A 77-year-old-old woman, who preferred not to be named, said this situation made her feel manipulated.

“I did and still do what the government orders: I separate my waste and place my plastic into the recycling bag. I don’t see why I should be taken advantage of with 10c being taken from me and then being made to work to get that money back.”

To compound matters, the machines are often full, she says.

“I can’t keep going to queue to push my plastic bottles through holes that, at times, throw them back at you because their container is full. This is totally preposterous. I don’t like to be manipulated.”

BCRS: Disruption is inevitable

A spokesperson for BCRS said that, while they were sensitive to mobility issues faced by certain sectors of society, consumers have an option to return their containers to the point of sale.

“The scheme is still in its initial stages, so an element of disruption caused by a culture change is inevitable and we are working to iron out any issues as container return patterns become more established.

“However, it is important to point out that it was the government which determined Malta should switch from a home collection system to a more focused return scheme due to more stringent EU targets being introduced on recycling and because the island was the worst performer within the bloc.” 

He said, in response to a government call, the refund scheme is run on similar lines as those in other countries.

In spite of “certain unhelpful and factually incorrect comments in the media”, it has pledged to operate the scheme on a not-for-profit basis, the spokesperson said.

It said the response to the scheme had been "overwhelming" with 800,000 bottles and cans returned over the past weekend alone.