Plastic bottles collected by WasteServ in 2023 decreased by 51% when compared to 2022, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli on Tuesday, as she praised the Beverage Container Refund Scheme as the cause for this.

Answering a parliamentary question filed by PN MP Stanley Zammit, the minister said that in comparison to 2022, in 2023 WasteServ also saw a decrease of 56% in aluminium bottles collection. 

This result is thanks to the Beverage Container Refund Scheme which incentivises the return of single-use beverage containers by applying a refundable deposit on the sale of beverages, Dalli said.

She said that the market for the export of recyclable waste is a volatile one, and in fact, the current prices being offered are at a very low level due to external factors, such as high energy costs in countries where the final facilities are located and increases in shipping costs.

Therefore, while the reduction in estimated revenue cannot be quantified, a reduction in revenue is inevitable as less plastic and aluminium now under the scope of the BCRS are ending up in the grey/green bag.