Malta gets its own Beverage Container Refund Scheme to recycle single-use containers

Malta, a small Mediterranean island between Sicily and the North African coast, has recently seen an environmental drive where the specific emphasis was laid to increase the collection of single-use glass, plastic or aluminium beverage cans and containers.  

On Monday, November 14, the Beverage Container Refund Scheme (BCRS) first began its operations, and on that very day, almost 50,000 containers were accumulated.

The rules pertaining to the Beverage Container Refund Scheme were first introduced in 2020 but initially restricted to plastic packaging as the European Union directive notified. The proper implementation of this noble programme took more than two years, after which a conglomeration of Malta's largest beverage distributors and exporters, officially known as BCRS, began collecting the amount of trash they were offering to the society, willingly or for business.

An associate from BCRS confirmed to sources that the organisation hopes to recycle over 70 per cent of its collected containers in the next two years, heightening to 90 per cent by 2026.

To play an individual's part, one must carry their single-use beverage containers to one of those 320 reverse vending machines skilfully placed across the region.

Not all types of beverage cans or containers are accepted by the machine; it only accepts plastic or glass bottles and aluminium cans already registered within the system. Moreover, tin cans and some types of glass containers are also accepted by these machines, but wine or spirit bottles are not to simplify significantly the sorting and recycling process.

Aluminium cans are usually made with the purest variation of aluminium which, when put under the recycling process, quickly melts to produce raw material with the original properties of the non-ferrous metal. This is one of the reasons why many leading brands are shifting toward aluminium containers to achieve a sustainable future.

Lastly, the machine glances at the product barcode to identify the items it can accept. One can claim some money in exchange for the containers he puts in the reverse vending machine. Upon recycling, users would be presented with cashable vouchers, which might be used at any registered outlet to purchase commodity items.

Over 8,000 vouchers were issued on Malta's first day of the recycling initiative.

Jennifer Cardona, a local resident and mother of two, explained: "I think it's a great idea. It's only fair that we pay for the waste we produce. Returning the beverage containers means that I'll be getting my money back, so there's a financial incentive too."

"I hope that more people realise that this will contribute to a better environment, so it's in everyone's interest," she seemed optimistic about the scheme.

But sceptical people kept a Grinch's eye on the programme, Jean-Paul Borg, confined to sources: "This is just another tax under the disguise of an initiative in favour of the environment."

Welbee's, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Malta, has sent email scream-outs to its clients, promoting affirmative participation in the scheme as its outlets have already installed these reverse vending machines.