And that’s why it’s a good idea for women like Nickie Vella de Fremeaux to have their own money: so that when their husbands come along waving a piece of paper at them demanding that they sign it, which would put them in debt to the tune of millions and risk their home and everything else, they can tell them where to stuff it.

And I’m being polite here.

Civic conscience- that scarcest of scarce resources in Malta. I have yet to see a campaign to increase civic responsibility in adults and children alike. Its lack is what makes Malta such a frustrating place to live in.

Excuse me Mrs Caruana Galizia, but rarely do Germans drink water out of the tap, although it is very drinkable.
It may be pertinent to remind you that most Germans drink Sprudel or Sparkling Water. In fact, if you ask at most places for a Wasser, you get the fizzy kind. But Stilles Wasser is also widely sold in Germany as well.
Furthermore, the return law is not limited to plastic water bottles, but to most drink bottles as well, even tin cans. There are some products which are packaged in Pfand Frei containers, but they are few and far between, unless they are imports. These Pfand Frei, along with other recyclable material, may be disposed off in Local Council freely supplied bags (Gelbe Sack) which are collected every fortnight.
Another thing. I remember diving some time ago off St. Paul’s Bay. The sea bed was full of discarded plastic bottles. I’d bet anything that few would continue polluting the sea if it would cost them money.
That said, I have to say that although I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Portelli’s proposition, I am perplexed as to the why he brought it up now. Unless his aim was for media exposure, in which case, and as seen by the arguments on this site, Kudos.

Non-returnable glass bottles (like most wine bottles) are brought to numerous bring-in sites close by. The tap water is of great quality and only few people by flat mineral water. Bin men don’t take them and you get fined if you get caught disposing them in a bin.

The introduction of returnable plastic bottles and tins was a nightmare and people don’t like queuing up at the machines at the supermarkets. Frequently, the machines are slow or out of order and leave people fuming until supermarket stuff finally shows up to fix the problem. Furthermore, the machines only read the labels when the bottle or tin is not damaged. Once you have a dent in it, you lose your deposit – even though the machine, if it correctly reads the label, squashes the bottle as soon as it passed the scanner.

Unlike in Malta, in Germany there are very good options to avoid or minimise the waste. So no, it’s not a good proposal. If you want to save the environment, either install a reverse osmosis in your home (that water tastes fantastic) or get it delivered by H2O.

You create the waste, you deal with it. You don’t do it because somebody pays you. You do it because you’re an adult with a civic conscience.