If the government had to change the 80,000 neon tubes found in all of its ministries and departments in replace ment of energy-saving lights, the government’s electricity consumption would drop by 40 per cent, Environment Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.

Mr Pullicino said the government had carried out a test in the St Joseph Ward at St Vincent de Paule hospital and over a period of time, energy consumption in the ward dropped by nearly half.

He said this showed that if the project had to include every single government department and ministry, around 40 per cent of electricity would be saved.

This measure would also reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from neon tubes to produce electricity from an estimated 43 metric tonnes to just under 12 metric tonnes.

He said the government’s initiative to introduce green leaders in every ministry was bearing the fruit. These individuals were ensuring that ministries utilised less paper and that the paper used was collected and recycled; that government employees used less printer cartridges and that the cartridges used were recycled. They were also responsible for carrying out an energy audit on all ministerial buildings.

The coordinator of Green Leaders Nicky Spiteri Paris said the appointment of 12 Green Leaders was proving successful. For example, since Green leaders were introduced in January, the Finance Ministry consumed 450,000 less papers.

The government now has a special van which goes round ministries on a roster basis to collect waste for recycling. The material is taken to the Sant’Antnin Recycling Plant. The recycled paper is used by a local factory to produce toilet paper. Newspapers and magazines are also recycled and used as bedding for animals.

As from next year, all ministries will allocate Lm10,000 for the Green Leader Project, the minister said, adding that 12 government workers will be sent on a training course on the installation of solar panels. The course will be financed by the Leonardo Programme.

Asked by The Malta Independent whether the government had encountered resistance from government employees because of the Green Leaders, Mr Pullicino said there were some heads of department that resisted this change.

Mr Pullicino said electricity consumption in the country had increased by 2.8 per cent since the government introduced the 17 per cent surcharge.

He hoped that electricity consumption would go down now that the surcharge had been increased to 55 per cent.