Recycle your beverage containers at any of the 320 Reverse Vending Machines in Malta and Gozo

Photo: maltaToday

A deposit charge of 10c on beverages in containers like soft drinks, beers and water now applies, and will be refunded if consumers return the empty containers to any of 320 BCRS Reverse Vending Machines installed across supermarkets and major beverage retail outlets, and within Public Recycling Hubs around Malta and Gozo.The deposit shall be returned to consumers by means of a voucher issued by the Reverse Vending Machines to be deducted against the bill at retail shops where beverages are sold.

In the case of catering establishments, the deposit is to be charged to the consumer only when the beverage container is taken away from the establishment by the consumer. When consumed on-premises, the consumer shall not be charged, and the establishment shall keep the beverage containers and as such will claim the deposit back when the said containers are returned to the Beverage Container Refund Scheme, a non-profit private operator.

This circular economy system entices returns of single-use beverage containers by consumers, which are then gathered and sorted by BCRS Malta for onward sale as recyclable material.

BCRS Malta is investing in privately funded infrastructure to operate the national beverage container refund scheme. Investments include the construction and setting up of the first privately funded Clearing Centre and sorting plant in Malta dedicated to beverage container waste, a network of Reverse Vending Machines around the Maltese islands which is not only a first of its kind for Malta, but which will also be powered by state-of-the-art engineering and IT technologies, connected through IoT, and a roll-out of monitoring systems underpinning the operation of the Scheme.

What is eligible for recycling?