Our Zero Waste Campaigner, Beth Fiteni, recently attended an international gathering of Zero Waste Europe in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Representatives of numerous organizations working to reduce waste in Europe gathered to discuss projects in their own countries and policies that could help improve the system of waste reduction, collection, and treatment in European countries. She also attended a meeting of Miza – the Mission Zero Academy (MiZA), which discussed the status of Zero Waste Certified cities in Europe. It is the world’s first certification programme aimed at accelerating Europe’s transition to zero waste at the local level. There are 20 Certified Cities and 30 more candidates, with hopes that Malta will soon follow. There is now also a Zero Waste Business certification, and  there are 5 certified businesses including the Central Bank of Montenegro.

A day of the conference was dedicated to the topic of textile waste, with several organizations showing how they have run campaigns for reusable baby nappies in their cities and one group working on a broader policy to ban advertisements for fast fashion, as has already happened in France. Some are considering pushing for a fee on higher volume producers of clothing to encourage lower production volumes, and in Ireland they are considering an incentive for second-hand stores. We also discussed EPR- extended producer responsibility, through which producers must take back products and packaging for recycling rather than the burden of waste being on local municipalities.

It was a fantastic meeting with many ideas shared. Some other interesting concepts include reverse vending machines, through which you pay a deposit for a cup or plate, and then are reimbursed when you return the item. This would be a very useful idea for Malta’s numerous outdoor festivals. Some discussions prompted the idea– could Malta potentially have a system for reusing wine bottles? Another great idea is creating a “Library of Things” such as tools, that you may only need occasionally, so you borrow it and return it, instead of having to buy your own. Another concept is a reuse and repair hub, a dedicated space where school groups can come to learn repair skills. 

We  talked about how over 156 organizations have signed onto a letter to the European Commission requesting a moratorium on new incinerators in Europe, and that there will be a Global Day of Action against incinerators in October. We also heard from a representative from the Philippines of GAIA, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives,which has 6 worldwide offices, who shared about how groups in Asia and across the world are working together against plastics, and to implement solutions for waste including reuse, and composting of organic waste.

There are many more measures we can take in Malta to reduce waste, starting with reducing overconsumption, and making use of the good systems we have in place here such as our door-to-to door pickup and BCRS for bottles. Some countries in Europe do not have these, so we should not take them for granted! By doing these measures we avoid increasing the size of our landfill at Maghtab and would have less need to burn waste in the proposed incinerator. 

For more information on Zero Waste Europe see here.