Over 250,000 single-use beverage containers were deposited in the reverse vending machines in the first 50 hours of their use, operators BCRS Malta Limited told The Malta Independent.

In reply to questions sent by this newsroom, BCRS Malta Limited, which is the licensed operator of the national beverage container refund scheme, said it "is noting with satisfaction the tremendous participation rate and enthusiasm with which the public has rallied to this environmental scheme."

The company said that the response has been such that over 250,000 single-use beverage containers had been deposited in the machines within the first 50 hours of their use.

Asked about some complaints that people were finding the machines full when they went to deposit containers, the company said that after these single-use beverage containers are deposited, they are continuously being collected from the machines and sent to the clearing centre for sorting and recycling.

Additionally it said that it is constantly monitoring the situation and has "Technical Response Teams on-the-go to investigate and resolve any situations as quickly as possible to minimise any inconvenience."

Upon receiving feedback from people using the machines, BCRS also shared some tips and urged the public to keep them in mind when making use of the machines.

The company said that in order for a container to be disposed, the barcode must be legible and the containers should not be squashed and should ideally have the cap on.

The company said that only single-use beverage containers registered with the scheme are accepted by the RVM. One can find out by entering the barcode here: http://bcrsmalta.mt/

It added that one can deposit 50 bottles at once before being prompted to print a ticket (50 bottles= €5.00), meaning that one does not need to print a voucher after every single deposited container

BCRS also said that the refundable deposit can be donated to MCCF charity via the RMV, that the vouchers are valid for 12 months and can only be used once, and that the vouchers can be redeemed against the bill of next purchase.

To find out more about where these machines are located together with frequently asked questions, one can visit the official page on http://bcrsmalta.mt/