Rubbish bags containing anything other than metal, plastic and paper will not be collected during the afternoon collections of separated waste, Resources Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.
Addressing the press in Attard, Pullicino said bags with contaminated recyclable waste or bags containing glass, will not be collected and instead rubbish collectors will place a sticker on it notifying residents that the waste cannot be collected.
Pullicino said that mixed waste containing glass, for example, could lead to injuries among waste separators at the St Antnin Recycling Plant, while organic waste could contaminate the rest of the waste, rendering it useless for recycling.
Some 613,460 kgs of separated waste were collected in the weekly door-to-door collections that kicked off on May 5, Pullicino said yesterday.
The ministry has engaged a number of inspectors to survey localities and speak to residents, and to ensure that waste collectors were honouring their contracts, which binds them to invest in new machines and ensure their vehicles were cleaned before collecting separated waste to ensure that no contamination took place.
Collectors will be given a sticker that will be stuck onto rubbish bags containing mixed waste. This will notify residents that their rubbish was not collected because it had contaminated waste. “This is an educational measure aimed at telling people how to separate their recyclable waste.”
Pullicino added that the initiative was completely to the bring-in sites, which have increased the efficiency of waste collection. Between May 2007 and May 2008, the total collection of plastic, paper, and metal, increased from 213,680 kgs to 256,720 kgs – and increased by 75% since its introduction in 2005.