The Bank of Valletta, in conjunction with the Malta Business Bureau, incorporating Malta Federation of Industry, Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, and Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, is organising a conference on the theme, "Tackling waste together - turning obligations into an opportunity." The conference will be held on Wednesday the 30th of January, at the San Gorg Corinthia Hotel in St Julians.

Bringing together a panel of both international and local speakers, this conference will be addressing the issue of Waste Management and legislation regarding commercial waste. The conference will also discuss the opportunities available for reducing the financial burden for industry, as well as EU funding opportunities. As such, this forum is of particular interest to manufacturers and other organisations involved in commercial activities.

The conference will be chaired by Dr Simone Borg, Legal Consultant, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Occupational Health and Safety Law. Martin Seychell, Director of Environment at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) will deliver a presentation covering producers' responsibility from a regulatory perspective. Dr Chris Ciantar, Director Environment Initiatives at the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment (MRAE) will give an overview of the Government's perspective concerning the collection of packaging waste. Lino Mintoff, CEO of the Malta Business Bureau will deliver a presentation on tapping EU funding opportunities, while Mr Reuben Saliba, Manager SME at Bank of Valletta will be providing information on BOV's financing package for the environment.

Ing. Walter Hauer, an Austrian independent consultant for waste management who specialises on economic issues will address the conference on the Austrian experience in this field. Ing. Hauer has been involved in the introduction of the EU directive on commercial waste packaging in Austria.

A panel discussion on the subject will be chaired by Godwin Micallef, Chairman FOI Environment Committee. The conference will be concluded by the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Hon. George Pullicino.