2021 will be WasteServ’s most productive year in terms of recyclables since its inception in 2002.
This was announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia during a visit at the Sant’Antnin Facility in Marsascala.
Here he had the opportunity to thank the workers for their excellent performance in view of their great accomplishment in processing the highest number of recyclables ever recorded. Minister Farrugia also had the opportunity to see the in-house upgrades implemented that facilitated such an achievement.
The minister explained that in the past year, WasteServ streamlined its operations and managed not only to recover lost ground since the 2017 fires but surpassed WasteServ’s best years since recyclables started being processed in Malta.
Estimates available to date show that for 2021 around 18,000 tonnes of good quality material will be recycled and returned to the economy. Such an achievement is even more impressive when one considers that the €500 million investment in the new ECOHIVE project has not yet started to bear fruit.
In terms of the main streams of recyclables, these figures translate into around 5,500 tonnes of cardboard and paper; 3,500 tonnes of metal; 7,000 tonnes of glass; and 2,000 tonnes of plastic.
Minister Farrugia said that this is a confirmation that the government is working to deliver a better environment for future generations. Minister Farrugia said that hard work combined with the determination to deliver concrete results in a sector that faced stagnation for a number of years has led to sharp and quick improvements. He said that this success is owed to the hundreds of waste management workers who day and night drive this sector forward.
WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca said that these achievements are only a taste of things to come in the coming years. With the new Long-Term Waste Management Plan and the largest ever investment in waste management, WasteServ is expected to further surpass these figures by a substantial margin. He stressed that teamwork and dedication led to these great results to be obtained in a very short period of time.
The waste management sector in Malta is going through a very exciting period of growth. As a country, not only have we managed to process record number of recyclables, but we are investing in robust infrastructure and a modern waste management plan that will allow the country to turn its waste into resources.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister