The lottery “Igbor u Irbah bil-Fliexken u l-Bozoz” was launched today in an effort to raise more awareness on hazardous waste. A recent study undertaken by WasteServ shows that only 17% of Maltese are aware that spent light bulbs are considered to be hazardous waste and hence must always be disposed of at Civic Amenity (CA) sites.

So far over 1 million bottles have been collected at CA sites thanks to this initiative, equivalent to an average of 10,500 bottles per week. As from today, the public may also participate in the lottery by taking spent light bulbs of any type to a WasteServ CA sites in exchange for lottery tickets. These are then entered into a random lottery draw held every three months. As an added incentive, each spent light bulb is worth five lottery tickets while one lottery ticket is given for every ten bottles.

During the press conference to launch this initiative, Minister Leo Brincat said that this Government is “committed to not only strengthen the recycling of waste but also to reduce the volume of generated waste, so that waste management is addressed in a more proactive way. It is equally committed to resort to effective means of tackling hazardous waste.”

Minister Brincat also said that WasteServ’s endeavours towards this aim show that the company is leading by example in these key areas, while adding that it is in this context that the Government will be engaging in a consultation process on the problem of junk mail, “an issue which has been left unresolved for several years, in spite of impacting directly on several households.”

In a survey conducted by WasteServ earlier this year among 1,400 respondents, only 17% were aware that light bulbs should be disposed of at CA sites. The highest level of awareness was in the under 16 age bracket, where 54% of respondents in this age group gave the correct answer.

43% of survey respondents said they dispose of spent bulbs in the black bag. In the over 60 age group, this figure goes up to 50% while in contrast only 8% of respondents aged under 16 dispose of bulbs in the black bag, further confirming the knowledge gap between younger and older generations with regards to hazardous waste.

Survey results also indicate a misconception about the types of glass waste that are recyclable, as 11% of respondents said they dispose of spent bulbs with recycling waste.

Another interesting result of the survey is that 57% of respondents who dispose of bulbs incorrectly have utilised the service of a CA site in the past to dispose of other types of waste. The campaign thus has a dual objective: to raise awareness on the subject of hazardous waste while also promoting the different services offered by WasteServ at its CA sites.

WasteServ Chairman Mr David Borg thanked all the sponsors who are supporting the campaign, namely the main sponsor Calleja Ltd of Birkirkara who will be offering a € 500 voucher to one lucky winner per draw, as well as The Point, Mdina Glass and Arkadia Group for their continued support.

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