He insisted that the eco-contribution was simply another revenue- generating exercise. “This eco-contribution is what in English is called a stealth tax,” he said, adding that, “both industry players and a good number of ecological NGOs are saying that this tax will give eco-taxes a bad name.”

He added that if the government was really serious about the matter there were a lot of measures that the it could take instead of this law. He said that wardens could be given the responsibility to give fines over environmental issues, adding that the funds from such contraventions could be invested in an environmental fund.

Nationalist Party spokesman Jefrey Pullicino Orlando spoke during the evening session. He criticised the Labour party saying that it was trying to take political advantage of the situation.

He compared the issue to the Mnajdra landfill controversy, saying that now that the government had changed its direction on the matter, the MLP was taking political advantage with the citizens living in the Maghtab area. He said that the MLP was simply criticising the bill without offering any alternatives.

“It is dishonest to criticise this scheme that has the aim of making waste management sustainable,” he said, pointing out that “the money generated will go towards an environment fund that help tackle waste management.”

Dr Pullicino Orlando acknowledged that there may be some fine-tuning to be done to the law, reminding however that the Environment Minister had already announced that there will be a commission set up to review and prepare a report on the effects of the law once it was in place.

He agreed with Leo Brincat that wardens should also take care of environmental issues and said that there had been suggestions made to this effect. The funds generated from the fines issued on environmental issues can be put in the environmental fund and used to improve the environment.

In this connection, he pointed out that five per cent of the eco-contribution will be going towards financing collection schemes.

MLP spokesman Anglu Farrugia said that the crux of the matter was that the country cannot take anymore taxes. “We are all for measures that safeguard the environment,” he said. “However, with the recent increase in VAT, the country cannot sustain an additional tax.”

He criticised the Environment Minister’s predecessor Dr Francis Zammit Dimech, saying that although he had piles of reports on waste management he had not taken any action.

He said that the products proposed for taxation did not discriminate between those that were eco-friendly and those that were not. This is simply another way for the government to generate revenue for the financial problems it has created, he said.

Besides waste management, he said, it would be better if the government focused on a reduction of waste generation. He gave the example of Germany that had a taxation system that encouraged eco-friendly consumption.

MLP spokesman Carmelo Abela quoted from a speech by a primary school student during the launching of the eco-schools in which the boy had said: “Show us the way and we will take up the challenge.”

He said that the example given by the government of the way it was dealing with the environment problem with this tax was not a good one.

He recalled Minister Pullicino’s parliamentary address in which the minister had said that the government is committed to protecting the environment. On the contrary, he said, it did not have a good track record over the years.