Environment Minister Jose Herrera today launched Resource, Recovery and Recycling Agency, and the CEO will be Marc Muscat, who has been a consultant to Herrera for a number of years.
The Agency will be tasked with working towards a circular economy, and increasing the rate of recycling, The consultative board will also have Mario Fava, Marisa Pisani, Louis Borg and Dr George Bugeja on it.
The Minister highlighted that the Waste to Energy plant, expected to be operational by 2023, will only deal with 40% of Malta's waste, and thus the other 60% needs to be dealt with. The minister said that waste is Malta's number one challenge, and that in order to reach the EU's goal of 60% recycling of waste, new waste streams would need to be established.
One such stream is the bottle refund scheme, announced earlier this year. This agency will conclude the final steps on this issue before the scheme is implemented, he said.
The minister explained that he will be asking the new CEO to propose an implementation strategy in order for Malta to become a circular economy.
Asked whether there is a conflict of interest in the appointment of Muscat, given his role as a consultant, the minister said that as Muscat took up the CEO post, he is no longer a consultant. He also said that Muscat has been spearheading the circular economy work conducted by his ministry, and that he believes Muscat to be the most competent person to take up the post, having helped with countless policies the ministry has worked on over the past few years.
The minister was also asked about the recent controversy with a bill aimed at introducing new recycling regulations.
The Opposition recently put forward a Parliamentary motion to revoke regulations introduced by government regarding a new system of waste collection, "as government issued them full of mistakes."
The minister called the PN motion 'ridiculous'. He said that the schedule for the organic bag will be introduced when it starts to be picked up and not now. He also said that the Opposition could have just asked him about this.
The minister said that the legislation in question consolidated separate laws on waste which exist, and that only a small part dealt with the organic bag. He stressed that the law as passed is fine, and mentioned that the lawyer who helped him draft the bill is Stephen Tonna Lowell, a well-known advocate.