The new waste collection regulations will not result in immediate fines, Environment Minister Jose Herrera told The Malta Independent, stressing that for a short period from when the law comes into force, stickers will be placed on bags brought out on the wrong day in order to better educate the public rather than fines being issued.
The government recently enacted regulations which will soon come into force regarding waste collection. The legal notice, among other things, makes it unlawful for any person to deposit or leave the wrong type of refuse for collection each day.
This newsroom asked the minister, with regards to enforcement, what would happen should a bag taken out on the wrong day be placed in front of someone else’s home, to which the bag does not belong.
“The issue of enforcement is pivotal for the success of a project like this. But I realise the teething trouble at the beginning, so the political direction given is that at the beginning no fines will be given, but we will stick stickers indicating that a bag was brought out on the wrong day, or too early, too late. So we will allow a few months for people to get used to the system, even though by 31 October the law will be in vigore and technically we can start fining.”
“Once enough time has passed, people who abuse will be taken to court, or in this case before Commissioners of Justice since the fines for first time offenders are not very high. How will we conclude of whom the rubbish belongs? Well it’s like every other offence. We’ve created a law and created punishments, and this is in itself a deterrent. As a criminal lawyer I can say that by far and large the majority of people are law-abiding citizens. Secondly, you can never catch all culprits, but you can sample.”
“You sample an area, see who is doing what, and cite that individual. You then give it a bit of publicity and increase the deterrent feel factor. That’s the way these things move”
During an event yesterday launching the upcoming collection of the organic bag, set to begin on 31 October, Head of the Local Councils Association Mario Fava had highlighted potential issues with the collection from apartment blocks. He spoke of the need for local councils to know who apartment owners are, and the administrators who administer said apartment blocks in their localities. He said that councils do not know who owns apartments and thus there is no contact by which they can send their message. It would be pointless sending letters to said apartments as they would be ignored, he said. “Locals must have direct contact with either the owner or the administrators of the flats.” He mentioned the possibility of them registering with local councils as there would then be direct contact. He also said that owners must also carry the obligation and be responsible for the actions of their tenants.
The minister was asked about this idea, for the owners to be responsible for the actions of their tenants. Herrera said: “A few years ago an important law was promulgated, regulating the communal use, the condominium act. It makes owners of flats appoint a manager for the condominium, and I think it should be the relative condominium act which should indicate who is responsible, and I think it should be the manager elected by the other co-owners.”
“More often than not flats are sold and not owned by one owner. If an owner rents out, then the law does not give the owner any particular legal responsibility in the management and running of a block of flats, as there is the Condominium Act which puts the obligation of the smooth running of the block on the manager appointed by the other co-lessees”.
Previously, the minister was asked by this newsroom about a provision within the new law, that people will not be allowed to take out the respective garbage or recycling bag four hours prior to collection time. This newsroom highlighted that if a garbage truck comes at around noon, then people might have had to leave for work over four hours before that. The Minister, as well as Marc Muscat, CEO of the new Resource, Recovery and Recycling Agency, said that the official pickup time is that stated by the council, and they determine the collection times. “If you take your garbage out at 6.45 am, and the council says the pickup time is at 7am, yet it is picked up at 4pm, then that is not the person’s fault, and the council needs to sort that out with the contractor. People need to move according to the indication provided by the local council.”