As the economy keeps prospering, unfortunately so does the amount of waste generated. Malta is at present struggling with inevitable environmental problems that come with economic advancements. In 2016, Malta generated around 270,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste, of which 27,000 tonnes were dry recyclable materials. Through the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations, the local authorised Packaging Waste Recovery Schemes: GreenMT Ltd and GreenPak COOP, are required to organise the kerbside collection of dry recyclables as well as provide bring-in sites for the separate collection of packaging waste within the localities they serve. These bring-in sites contain separate bins for glass, paper & cardboard, metal and plastic waste.
GreenPak COOP have recently evolved the concept of separate collection by introducing intelligent bins. Using next generation ‘Internet of Things’ technology introduced by Vodafone Malta, iBiNs are capable of monitoring waste levels and feed information back to a central system. This enables GreenPak’s recycling service to prioritise and customise collection routes in the 41 localities it currently serves across Malta and Gozo. A total of 800 bins have been introduced in the early months of 2019 with the aim to enable citizens to recycle 24/7 and put an end to overflowing bring-in sites.
Credit photo: GreenPak iBins
The partnership between GreenPak COOP and Vodafone Malta means that for the first time in the Maltese Islands, residents are able to identify which iBiN is closest, as well as whether it has any spare capacity. All this is done via a mobile app. Currently, about 10% of all dry recyclables generated are collected from bring-in sites. GreenPak COOP are aiming for the new revolutionary iBiNs to be instrumental in increasing usage of such sites, by making domestic waste management as convenient as possible for Maltese citizens in today’s hectic every-day life.
In 2016, GreenMT Ltd launched a pilot project for 40 weeks, called iRecycle, in conjunction with Iklin Local Council. Residents were provided with grey bags for recyclables that sealed with a bar code system, so that information can be gathered on the residents participating in the project. This project was launched with the aim to increase the amount of waste being recycled. Awards were given to those residents who recycled the most waste, through the kerbside collection of dry recyclables.
Credit photo: GreenMT - iRecycle
Further information may be found on www.greenpak.com.mt and www.greenmt.org.
