The Rural Affairs and the Environment Ministry said yesterday that eco contribution refunds were not yet available.

It was referring to an advert by a locally-registered packaging waste recovery scheme, which has appeared in the print media. Refunds for eco-contribution, it said, were being contemplated as highlighted in the consultation document that the ministry issued in May 2006.

Having reviewed the comments received, it added, the ministry, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the VAT Department, drafted a legal notice that shall put the refund mechanism into practice once it is published.

“Until such legal notice is published, no refunds for eco-contribution can be honoured by the government,” it said.

It pointed out that as a result, the wording “Existing members of GreenPak are already entitled for eco contribution refunds for 2006 and 2007”, included in the advert which has appeared, “is misleading”.