The Malta Waste Reduction Awards: Acknowledging good waste practices
The 9th edition of the Malta Waste Reduction Awards were organized by Wasteserv and held at the Dolmen Hotel, Qawra. During the ceremony, several local entities were awarded for an environmental action taken. During this year’s awards there were a total of 100 local candidates taking part. This annual celebration is a Europe-wide initiative and forms part of the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR).
The Awards recognized the efforts made by various participants and displayed the environmental actions which were put forward. The participants included Local Councils, Businesses, Schools, NGO’s and individual citizens.
“There needs to be a collective commitment to take waste management to the next level. It is useless to invest in projects, technologies and new facilities which are beneficial to our country if the public does not do its part” stated Minister for Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Jose Herrera. He thanked Wasteserv not only for their work to strengthen their infrastructure, but also for their ongoing support in this annual event related to the European Week for Waste Reduction.
The local initiatives for the European Week for Waste Reduction were grouped under 7 different categories, with awards going to:
Public Administration Category: Ghajnsielem Local Council
Associations Category: Agara Foundation
Educational Establishments Category: St. Nicholas College Rabat Primary
Business Administration Category: Ojo Hair and Beauty Lounge
Individual Citizens Category: Abigail Azzopardi
Clean-up Awareness Category: #Zibel, Kunsill Studenti Universitarji and De La Rue Currency & Security Print Ltd
Best Practice in Most Innovative Reuse Initiative Category: Gzira Local Council
Localities taking part in the Organic Waste Project were also awarded during the evening. The winners in this category were selected based on: residents’ participation; the amount of organic waste collected per capita; reduction in the amount of black bag waste and the increase in the quantity of recyclable waste. The prizes were that of €5000, €3000, and €2000. The awards this year went to: Bormla, Mgarr and Marsaxlokk, for the Maltese localities and Ghajnsielem, Fontana and Xewkija respectively for the Gozitan localities.
This year 44 coordinators coming from 32 different countries around Europe participated in the European Week for Waste Reduction. 13,410 environmental actions were implemented by a wide range of audience across Europe. Malta itself implemented 160 actions alone. Every year the Waste Reduction week offers a special focus and last year’s initiative was to reuse and repair goods. The aim behind this international initiative is ‘the need to shift from a throw-away attitude towards more appreciation for products and the resources used’.