Incentivising our own environmental failure is now a thing of the past. As of January 2023, important changes to WasteServ’s gate fee regime will come into force.

Those who separate their waste will save money and those who do not will be paying the true cost of their actions.

Landfill gate fees in Malta have been historically low, stimulating decades of environmental stagnation in the waste management sector, with the cheapest short-term available option being the least sustainable in the long-term. This is a vicious cycle that delivered some of Malta’s biggest environmental headaches.

As the saying goes, you cannot start the next chapter if you keep re-reading the last one. We have now taken decisive steps to break away from the past, enabling the country to fast track its transition from one of the EU’s worst performers to becoming the member state with the biggest short-term gains.

After the announcement of the significant half-a-billion-euro investment in waste management infrastructure as part of the ECOHIVE project, WasteServ is now taking another decisive step towards our goals with the introduction of differentiated gate fees.

The rates for recyclables and organic waste will remain low at 50 cents and €20 respectively but mixed waste will start increasing €20 annually as of next January until it reaches €120 per tonne in 2027.

Businesses that start separating their waste will actually save money. Those that do not will no longer have their polluting practices funded by fellow taxpayers and will have to cover the actual cost incurred by the country to treat their waste.

Over the years, low landfill gate fees have led to high landfilling rates. In fact, Malta tops EU charts with the highest landfilling rate hovering at around the 90 per cent mark.

The new pricing regime is expected to shift the balance towards more sustainable options as Malta starts the laborious walk towards the 10 per cent landfilling goal.

Various business opportunities will therefore be created as the new gate fee regime will stop failing the waste management market and killing any form of initiative or room for competition and investment from the private sector.

With loss-making gate fees, no private value-added initiative could have ever competed with landfilling. The new rates are expected to stimulate innovation in this sector and the crea­tion of a new strand of green jobs.

Businesses can now come up with innovative ideas for readily available mass materials such as wood, gypsum and mattresses, to name a few. There is now potential for new value-added niches that depend on highly skilled workers and innovative equipment that converts waste streams into raw materials and new products.

Businesses can now come up with innovative ideas for readily available mass materials such as wood, gypsum and mattresses- Richard Bilocca

As soon as a business engages in waste separation, tonnes of waste are immediately converted into valuable revenue streams: a series of value-added transactions that are not simply environmentally sustainable from a circular economy point of view but also from a financial perspective.

The segregation of waste into different streams also allows commercial operators to identify their most wasteful processes, often leading to substantial process efficiency improvements.

These are not haphazard changes. Our waste management practices are being carefully studied, trends observed on a weekly basis and major infrastructural projects are being prepared for. This not just on the ground but also through the policy books, a holistic strategy with clear goals that is gradually reforming a sector away from the ways of the past.

The public is also a vital player.

Recent data shows that the public’s efforts are leading Malta to steadily improve its month-on-month performance.

In 2021 alone, Malta’s recycling rate increased by five per cent to 15 per cent and the quality of the delivered recyclables increased by over 35 per cent. And it is because of these results that it remains sustainable for the public to continue benefiting from a range of free-of-charge services such as the door-to-door collections, bulky waste services, the civic amenity sites and others.

Concurrently, WasteServ will continue with its intensive public campaigns to stimulate this sustainable transition towards continuous improvements.

At WasteServ, I am proud to be managing one of the most energetic workforces on the island. Results are being attained fast and the best is yet to come.

However, energy alone will not get us far. Bold decisions are required and this is exactly what the current administration is doing. A long-term plan is being implemented with the conviction that this will guarantee a better environment for our children than the one we inherited from the generation that preceded us.

Although much more work is required, it is clear that we are on the right track. The future is bright.

Be part of it. Separate your waste and re-invest such savings in making your commercial operations more efficient.

Richard Bilocca is the CEO of WasteServ.