Author: SME Chamber

Green MT, the National Waste
Packaging Compliance Scheme has recently held a School Recycling Campaign.
Thirty Schools or colleges participated in this campaign aptly called Go Green Man. Green MT in collaboration with the Deceduti Character Gable and Maltese Singer and songwriter Kristina Casolani took to the
schools and held an event at each School. The event included an informative talk
by Green Mt Eco Councillors who provided enough information to the students
present so that they would answer questions set to them by Gable.

During the eight weeks of the competition 70 tons of recyclable
materials were recovered. The winners of this competition were St Francis
School of Birkirkara who have over 310 students, closely followed by St Paul's
Bay Primary School which have over 800 students.

It is to be noted that although
placing second, this school collected the highest volume of material in the
period, just over 27 tons which is a remarkable achievement. The effort put in
by both the students and the parents was highly commended by the Scheme. Third
placed was Verdala Boys College who worked very hard in this competition. This
college has over 900 students.

During two events held to award the winners, St Paul's
Bay Primary School was given a surprise appearance by Malta's Eurovision Idol,
Kurt Calleja who sung and danced with the students. Students were given over
fifty gifts raffled on the day whilst each of the 800 students were given a
party pack. Kristina Casolani closed the event with her singing and students
were without fail enthralled.  During the
event Green MT thanked the parents who helped to make this competition a
success story for the School and thanked Mrs Dalmas, the School Head, who
cooperated and encouraged the students to work hard on the project.

In the second event held on June 27^th, St Francis
School of Birkirkara were also given a surprise award. The students were
visited by four of the Deceduti Characters, including Gable and Mr M amongst others.
Kristina Casolani was also present and sang for the students whilst the
presence of animators included face painting, drawings and games for the
students. Food was distributed and a party pack was also given to all the
students. The School recovered over 14tons of recyclable materials. A number of
helpers were also thanked on the day.

Another thank you event will be held for Verdala Boys
College in the second week of October 2012, first semester of the coming
scholastic year.

The Campaign included also a Bin Design Competition.
The designs of the bins were posted on Go Green
Man facebook
page and the one with most likes will be the declared winner and Green MT
intends to manufacture the said design of the bin for use within Schools and
localities.

Green MT has also held an audition for up and coming
young singers who together with prolific singer and songwriter Kristina
Casolani will come up with a song for Green MT which will eventually be sold,
with proceeds going for charity.

Green MT is by far Malta's largest Waste Packaging
Compliance Scheme, catering for nearly 270,000 residents in Malta and Gozo.
Green MT operates the collection of Grey Recycle Bags and also Recovery from
Bring in Sites and the commercial sector. The Scheme recovers over 1000 tons of
packaging waste monthly and caters for the cleaning of over 375 sets of Bring
in Sites in Malta and Gozo.

‘We are working
hard to provide an education campaign to our younger generation, at any cost.
It is an investment for many years to come. We owe it to our future generations
and we have to keep in mind that we are here to leave our environment much
better then we found it, for our children'  stated
Joe Attard, Green MT CEO. This campaign will continue in the first and second
semester of the scholastic year 2012/2013 and we duly hope that in that period
the Scheme will cater for a competition for 60 other schools and colleges.

Green MT would like to thank each and every
participant, the supporting parents, all school administrators from heads to
teachers, the Eco Councillors who delivered talks to each School, Gable and the
team behind the Deceduti Character, singer Kristina Casolani, all Green MT
Staff, and last but not least the contractors who recovered and weighed the
material…70, 000 kilos of packaging waste!

Following a meeting held this
week at the Ministry for Fair Competition, SMEs and Consumer Affairs regarding
the Marsaxlokk promenade issues, in the presence of Hon Jason Azzopardi, Hon
Mario Demarco, Transport Malta, Marsaxlokk LC and representatives of the Monti
Hawkers, by GRTU Executive Carmen Borg and Lawyer Dr Jan Karl Farrugia, GRTU
wrote to the above mentioned Ministers and gave them GRTU's position in
writing.

GRTU informed them that we are in agreement
with the proposals made by Dr Stanley Portelli regarding the traffic in Xatt
is-Sajjieda, in the short term reducing the traffic speed and flow, and in the
long term converting the promenade to a pedestrian zone. GRTU however maintains
its reservations regarding this proposal as a viable option due to the
fishermen's constant requirements to access the slipways and other designated
zones.

GRTU called for their
intervention in the matter, particularly to save this summer's commerce for the
restaurant owners along the promenade. The short term solution of having market
hawkers in between restaurant premises and their tables and chairs along the
promenade cannot be accepted. It is absolutely impracticable for a restaurant
to be visually impaired from seeing the patrons on his tables and chairs on the
promenade. It is hugely impracticable for waiting staff to cross in between
market stalls. This proposal will only augment already existing issues.

The GRTU insists that
Government, in order to ensure a level playing field, should proceed according
to the proposed plan submitted to MEPA, and mathematically calculate what size
of stall will fit in the designated area when multiplied by 21 Market Hawker
Operators.

GRTU argued that the current
abuse, with certain Market Hawker stalls exceeding 90 feet in length should
never be accepted by Government and the Local Council. Should the stalls for
the Market Hawkers in Marsaxlokk even remotely come close to these sizes, then
there will not be any issue regarding the Market Hawkers fitting comfortably in
the space earmarked on the plan submitted for the amendment of the Master Plan.

Therefore short term plans for
the area should allow Restaurant Owners to place tables and chairs in
accordance with the submitted Plans, whilst regulating appropriate interim
stall-sizes for the Market Hawkers.

After the success of our first Smartphone Training Sessions, Vodafone will be holding another set of training sessions for individuals owning a smartphone
Schedule of Smartphone Training Sessions :

Venue for all sessions: Vodafone House – Meeting Room 4

Tuesday 10th July – IPhone 5.30pm – 7.00pm

Wednesday 11th July – Android 5.30pm – 7.00pm

Saturday 28th July – IPHONE – 9.00am – 10.30am

Saturday 28th July – ADNROID – 11.00am – 12.30pm

Retail representatives are invited to promote and offer these free
training sessions to all customers purchasing an I-phone or an Android
Smartphone.

Malta’s prices lower than other 18 EU Member States and 20% lower than average –
In 2011, price levels for consumer goods and services differed widely across Member States, the EUI average being 51%. Denmark (142% of the EU27 average) had the highest price level, followed by Sweden (128%), Finland (125%) and Luxembourg (122%). Price levels of 10% to 20% above the EU27 average were found in Ireland (117%), Belgium (112%) and France (111%), while the Netherlands (108%), Austria (107%), Germany and Italy (both 103%) and the United Kingdom (102%) had levels up to 10% above the average.

Spain (97% of the EU27 average) and Greece (95%) were just below the
average, while Cyprus (89%), Portugal (87%) and Slovenia (84%) were
between 10% and 20% below. Price levels between 20% and 30% below the
average were observed in Estonia (79%), Malta (78%), the Czech Republic
(77%), Latvia (74%) and Slovakia (72%), and levels between 30% and 40%
below in Lithuania (66%), Hungary (64%), Poland and Romania (both 60%).

The
lowest price levels were found in Bulgaria (51%).
Food price levels varied by one to two across the Member States
Price levels for food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2011 ranged from
67% of the EU27 average in Bulgaria to 136% of the average in Denmark.
Differences in price levels between Member States were less for this
product group than for total goods and services.

For alcoholic beverages
and tobacco, prices were lowest in Hungary (63% of the average) and
highest in Ireland (163%). This large price variation is mainly due to
differences in taxation of these products among Member States.

Clothing is one of the groups of products showing a smaller price
variation among Member States, with Bulgaria (75% of the average)
cheapest and Sweden (133%) most expensive. Consumer electronics6 is
another group of products where prices differed less among Member
States, ranging from 89% of the average in Poland to 125% in Malta.
Excluding Denmark (167% of the average), price differences among Member
States were also limited for personal transport equipment, with levels
varying from 83% of the average in Bulgaria to 122% in Portugal.
For restaurants and hotels, price variations were more significant, with
price levels ranging from 45% of the average in Bulgaria to 154% of the
average in Denmark.

A fuller report is available at:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22062012-AP/EN/2-22062012-AP-EN.PDF

During a public consultation seminar on the 15th June organized by MIEMA last week, president of Renewable Energy Section Noel Gauci made GRTU’s position clear that under no circumstance will GRTU tolerate that Malta invests in foreign countries to reach its renewable energy targets, if similar investments are possible locally. If any investment is to be done, then government should make it in Malta to create business and jobs for our own companies, not elsewhere. Even if it had to cost more to do it here, which is very unlikely, the advantages of employment and related benefits will greatly outdo the difference in cost. Moreover it is essential to have full control on such sensitive plants, something which cannot be guaranteed if it is done on foreign soil.

Noel Gauci also commented that while initiatives like the one taken by MIEMA are commendable, one should be cautious when reporting to the media. For example a recent article selected part of a MIEMA study and emphasized an issue that does not even exist, something which MIEMA officials agreed with.

The article referred to glare that could affect aircraft during landing. To date no pilots have complained on such issue, mostly because the PV systems installed in Malta are too small to make any significant impact of the pilots’ visual. Mr. Gauci suggested that MIEMA issues a statement to clarify their position.

Another topic raised was that we need to stop wasting our time proposing the impossible, such as installation of PV farms on virgin green spaces, of which the country has very little left. To the contrary we should focus on what is doable, such as installations in areas already scarred by heavy industry, the separate use of factory roof tops, installations out at sea, etc. Mr Gauci also noted that GRTU is continuously liaising with MRA and PPCD to ensure that before the end of the year a new domestic PV scheme is launched. Although GRTU had worked hard to see a scheme launched prior the trade fair, circumstances beyond everyone’s control made it impossible for such a scheme to materialize.