Don’t Kill Craft

🍺 We, together with the other craft beer and drinks importers, producers and retailers in Malta, are currently facing a very serious threat that could very well mean the end of our business.

👉 As from 1st April we are being asked to register each product we import at €100 per new product we place on the market, provide a sample of each and disclose all our import details to a private company running this scheme.

⭕ We’re talking about the new beverage container waste-collection scheme being run by BCRS (a private company made up of the biggest companies in our industry) that will be running the system through reverse vending machines (RVM). The consumer will be paying 10c per bottle upfront and will then get refunded when they return it to the RVM. The waste collected is then sold and exported.

♻️ We are of course all in favour of any sensible green initiatives and would be very happy to contribute, however the conditions around this are disproportionately set against us and in favour of the big players. We have suggested a system, specifically for craft products, in line with what happens in other countries, but it was shot down by BCRS, who sets the rules on how this scheme works.

💕At POPP, the nature of our business entails that we import several different types of products in low quantities. Throughout a year we easily have over 250 different types of beers and drinks, of which we import perhaps just few dozens of each, never to be imported again. That means €25,000 of registration fees alone. This would effectively mean that it wouldn’t make sense financially for us to keep importing such products or otherwise the pricing for the products would be unrealistic.

🤔Some questions are pertinent – Why do we need to register a product and give all the commercial details to a company owned by our competitors? Why do we need to pay to register products? Why are beer and smaller containers only being included in this scheme and not wines and spirits? Why is a 10c refund given to only registered containers when the aim of the scheme should be to collect as much waste as possible?

🍻All this is very unfair and risks compromising the work we’ve all taken to slowly build this fledgling craft beer and drinks scene here in Malta. Kindly share this to help us raise awareness if you’d like to keep enjoying your craft drinks!

📩 View the letter we sent to the Environmental minister here: https://t.ly/ujZt

#saveourbeer #addsomepopp #yestorecycling #dontkillcraft