Waste collectors in war of words over GRTU’s ‘retroactive’ permit

Green MT’s chief executive Joe Attard dismissed the matter as a “storm in a teacup” after Labour MP Leo Brincat revealed in parliament that the firm was collecting waste for local councils when it was not even covered by a MEPA permit between January and June 2010.

Green MT, the waste management company operated by the Chamber of SMEs (GRTU), denied it was operating “illegally”, after its MEPA permit was only issued on 25 June 2010.

The company collects recyclable packaging waste on behalf of importers and producers, who would have paid eco-tax on their products, and then collect a refund on the tax.

The matter cropped up in parliament when shadow environment minister Leo Brincat asked the Prime Minister whether the MEPA permit to Green MT was in breach of fair competition rules, having been issued in June but retroactively covering the period from 1 January, 2010.

Green MT managed to collect 6,000 tonnes of packaging waste in the first half of 2010 when it was not covered by a MEPA permit – something Brincat said was in breach of the law – and still entered into agreements with local councils to collect their waste.

In his reply, the Prime Minister said MEPA had authorised Green MT’s permit “so that its members’ interests would be protected and so Malta’s obligations [on recycling] would be achieved. In no way was the scheme ‘regularised’ or ‘sanctioned’ for the January-June 2010 period.”

Lawrence Gonzi said that the MEPA permit authorised that all waste collected before June “without a permit” could still be used by the Green MT scheme to honour its obligations toward its member companies.

Green MT reacted to press reports of its ‘retroactive’ permit saying that MEPA had allowed it in June to “take over the responsibilities of its members for the year 2010” and to provide outstanding reports for its waste collection starting 1 January 2010.

But rivals GreenPak turned up the heat by saying it was seeking the permission from the government’s approving body to take over all 2010 legal responsibilities for Green MT members who joined GreenPak halfway in the year.

“We are offering peace of mind to non-GreenPak members while ensuring Malta’s waste packaging performance does not regress in 2010,” GreenPak chief executive Mario Schembri said in a statement.

In its retort, Green MT chief executive Joe Attard accused GreenPak of taking “special glee” (sic) “in misinterpreting what the Prime Minister said”.

“A clarification from the director of environment requested by Green MT states that ‘Green MT members are fully covered for all of 2010, if the scheme reports on all waste collected and recycled during 2010’,” Attard said.

Green MT said it had submitted all the reporting and had been certified by Wasteserv to have collected 6,190 tonnes by June 2010, and another 4,411 onnes by September 2010.

“Green MT members have recieved eco-contributino exemption certificates from the approving body, which means it has recognised the work by the scheme in the first six months of 2010,” Attard said.