The Malta Waste Reduction Awards— acknowledging good waste practices

The ninth edition of the Malta Waste Reduction awards were organised by Wasteserv and held at the Dolmen Hotel, Qawra. During the ceremony, several local entities were awarded for environmental action taken and this year a total of 100 local candidates took part. This annual celebration is a Europe-wide initiative and forms part of the European Week for Waste Reduction.

The awards recognised the efforts made by various participants and displayed the environmental actions which were put forward. Participants included local councils, businesses, schools, NGOs 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 Dr José Herrera, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change. 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 seven different categories and were awarded as follows: • Public Administration Category: Għajn

sielem Local Council • Associations Category: Agara Founda

tion • 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: #Żibel, Kunsill Studenti Universitarji and De La Rue Currency & Security Print Ltd • Best Practice in Most Innovative Reuse

Initiative Category: Gżira 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. Prizes of €5,000, €3,000 and €2,000 were this year awarded to Bormla, Mġarr and Marsaxlokk from among the Maltese localities and Għajnsielem, Fontana and Xewkija respectively from among the Gozitan localities.

This year, 44 coordinators from 32 different countries around Europe par- ticipated in the European Week for Waste Reduction. A total of 13,410 environmental actions were implemented by a wide range of action developers across Europe.

A wide range of audiences across Europe implemented a total of 13,410 environmental actions – 160 of which were implemented by Malta alone. Every year the European Week for Waste Reduction has a special focus and last year’s initiative was to reuse and repair goods. The aim behind this international initiative is to address “the need to shift from a throw-away attitude towards more appreciation for products and the resources used”.