More than 4.5 million bottles and cans have been returned since the launch of the Beverage Container Refund Scheme three weeks ago, with 800,000 returns being made over the past weekend alone, the company handling the scheme said on Wednesday. 

A spokesman for BCRS Malta said in a statement: “We are encouraged by the public’s participation and are making adjustments along the way to improve the scheme’s operations: around 90 per cent of our 320 machines have been fully functional in spite of huge demand and we believe the response will improve further as people become more accustomed to the scheme.”

He observed that according to EU data Malta was consistently the worst EU performer when it came to recycling, with the island managing to recycle only 10% of plastic packaging when the EU average was 38%. The government had therefore decided that Malta should switch from a home collection system to a more focused beverage container return scheme.

“We formed BCRS Malta Ltd to respond to this change and will face legal consequences – including penalties purposely set-up by the regulator – should we fail to meet ambitious recovery and recycling targets" the spokesman said. 

“Furthermore, BCRS has committed itself to investing unredeemed deposits into initiatives aimed at promoting a circular economy, so claims being made in certain quarters that the company stands to profit from non-returns are entirely without foundation."

The spokesman said refundable compulsory deposits has proven to be highly effective abroad and the local scheme was therefore based on such successful models. However, this required a culture change. "Alhough an element of disruption is inevitable, we believe that ultimately the BCRS scheme will benefit the environment."