Green Dot Malta, operators of the waste recovery scheme known as GreenPak, will be distributing some 150,000 free recycling sacks to all households in those local councils that are working with GreenPak to promote ‘Recycling on Tuesday’.

Kalkara Mayor Michael Cohen and GreenPak CEO Mario Schembri, in the presence of Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino and Opposition spokesperson for local government Dr Stefan Buontempo, launched the extensive education campaign underpinning this initiative this week at the Kalkara Local Council.

As a first step, the education campaign will have representatives visiting Kalkara households to raise awareness on the importance of recycling and separating waste, to start recycling or, if they are already recycling encourage them to continue with their recycling commitment.

The campaign’s timing is appropriate as fees incurred by local councils to send their waste collection to a landfill have drastically increased from 0.87cents per tonne to e20 per tonne. Local councils therefore need to encourage their citizens to recycle in order to contain the payment of these new fees. At the same time, by reducing the fee, less is spent on landfill charges and more on the upkeep of the locality.

As an added incentive, the recycling advisers will be giving out a free roll of green sacks to every Kalkara household together with a leaflet with an educational message, explaining the small changes that can be made in every household to lessen the fees that local councils have to pay when disposing of waste in landfills. The recycling advisers will be able to answer any queries residents might have.