The eco-contribution payable on electrical and electronic equipment is being removed as from 1 September, with the government aiming to phase out the eco-contribution on all products over a number of years, Environment Minister Leo Brincat said this afternoon.

The removal of the eco-contribution on electrical and electronic equipment had been included in the 2015 Budget, but removing it also entailed ensuring that local businesses conform to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. Consequently, extensive consultation with constituted bodies and other stakeholders was held to determine the best way forward.

Two legal notices are to be published in the coming days, one amending the Eco-Contribution Act to remove the contribution on electrical and electronic waste, and another one amending regulations on the management of such waste.

Mr Brincat explained that the only companies which can benefit from the eco-contribution removal are those who enter into an authorised waste management scheme or those who self-regulate, who would have to formally bind themselves to do so and to be subject to verifications. Companies have up to the end of August to inform MEPA of their decision.

The minister stressed that abuse of the system would not be tolerated, and that penalties would be imposed on those who try to renege on their waste management obligation.

Following consultations, the government has decided that those who seek to benefit from the scheme could either use a bank guarantee or obtain a waste insurance policy that is satisfactory to the government.

Stakeholders agreed that all electrical and electronic equipment waste - whether deposited in civic amenity sites or collected separately by WasteServ, will be managed by WasteServ itself, with the company tying itself to distribute this waste proportionally among the recognised scheme. Mr Brincat said that WasteServ would continue to serve as an operator of last resort and would not seize the opportunity to expand its operations and compete with the private sector.

Malta Chamber for Commerce, Enterprise and Industry president Anton Borg said that the chamber was ready to cooperate with the government to ensure that the reform is concluded as quickly as possible.

GRTU president Paul Abela noted that the association has long argued that the eco-contribution should end, noting that it soon evolved into a tax which simply served to boost government revenue. He welcomed the fact that the government has committed itself to gradually remove it, as it had suggested.

Also present were representatives of GreenPak, the scheme endorsed by the Chamber, and Green MT, which is a GRTU subsidiary.

GreenPak CEO Mario Schembri said that eco-contribution had become a great obstacle to increasing recycling sustainably, noting that while recycling was costly itself, companies would still be penalised through the contribution.

His Green MT counterpart, Joe Attard, welcomed the scheme, but stressed that the authorities had to ensure that the waste material is handled by sites which are authorised to process it.