Today, September 1, marks a new era for the collection of glass from local councils through the door-to-door collection system as well as from iBins and bring-in sites.
Wasteserv, the national waste management agency, Green Mt and Greenpak, the schemes that pay for the collection of glass, and the Local Councils Association have agreed to make sure that glass is collected clean.
This is a step in the right direction and it has the backing of environment minister Aaron Farrugia.
Local councils are the voice of consumers. It is they who need to communicate to everyone the need to contribute towards the collection of glass that is clean. They have been inundated with questions on the scheme: Why now? We thought this had been going on for years? Have I been washing and separating glass waste for nothing? What if the container for glass is stolen? Who provides me with another one? I don’t have one – where do I get one?
Then there have also been comments such as: This is impossible to implement during COVID for hygiene reasons. The bin will lie in the street for hours as I return too late to put it out after work. The pavement is too small for the bin. I live in an apartment block, how does this work?
I have heard all these comments and much more.
Make the choice that creates the change we need to improve our environment and our lives- Joe Attard
There is only one answer at the end of the day: make the choice that creates the change we need to improve our environment and our lives.
We can no longer afford to allow everything to be dumped in landfills (where?). We need to make a choice, a choice that promotes well-being for all.
To each question there is but one answer: make the right environmental choice. We cannot continue to profess love for the environment but continue to do as we please. That just won’t work.
The well-being we seek in 2050 for our children and our children’s children will be the result of our actions now.
Glass, clean glass, is a material that can be recycled and reused over and over. But it cannot be contaminated with other materials.
That means we need to make sure that the glass we deposit at our iBins and bring-in sites is only clean glass – not in plastic bags, not in cardboard packaging – just glass.
Make this your small contribution for the environment from today.
It is not easy for individuals to make a choice for the environment and their own well-being if it takes effort. But we do make an effort to wake up and go to work, because someone will pay us for doing it. Our stand in favour of a better environment should be on the same lines.
Local councils should promote better use of bring-in sites and iBins for those who choose not to use the kerbside system.
Commercial entities, mostly in the catering sector, should stand up to be counted by adhering to their environmental obligations.
It is not acceptable for them to continue to dump glass at bring-in sites along with the cardboard box or plastic bags they brought them in.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association must take a proactive approach to this matter. While a number of hotels have a culture of change, many catering establishments continue to dump their waste with a laissez faire attitude.
Catering establishments should have a different coloured bag for their waste, and they should pay the full price of disposal, including treatment. This should eventually also be the rule for every citizen according to the polluter-pays principle.
Choices create changes. Be part of the change culture. Together we must deliver.
Joe Attard is CEO of Green MT.