Malta
Malta runs its producer duties mainly through one authority, ERA. For most streams, Maltese EPR compliance means registering with ERA, showing your registration number on invoices, and renewing it by 31 March each year.
Six streams carry active EPR duties. End-of-life vehicles is one of them, but it works through free take-back at treatment facilities, not an ERA producer registration.
The annual renewal is easy to overlook. Late renewal carries a monthly fee, so the registration is a live obligation, not a one-off.
What carries EPR in Malta
Six streams carry active duties: packaging, electronics, batteries, single-use plastics, plastic fishing gear and end-of-life vehicles. Textiles are still on the horizon, and non-packaging paper is in draft.
Fishing gear is the newest. It was published in July 2025, with online registration, the number on invoices, and a collective scheme still to be set up.
Single-use plastics producers join an authorised packaging scheme and register with a unique SUP number, with tobacco-filter EPR added through 2025 rules.
Registering with ERA
Producers register with ERA, which draws up the producer register per stream and issues a registration number that must appear on invoices and receipts.
Compliance then runs through an authorised scheme. Packaging producers join a producer responsibility organisation such as GreenPak or Green MT, or self-comply with a financial guarantee.
The deposit system
Malta's beverage deposit is run by BCRS Malta, separate from the packaging producer duty.
For beverage containers in the deposit scheme, BCRS takes over the packaging EPR, so producers do not also pay a packaging scheme for those same containers. Any other packaging, like boxes or wrap, still goes through GreenPak or Green MT.
Who has to comply
Producers and importers on the Maltese market carry the duty, as do distance sellers shipping to Maltese customers.
For batteries and electronics a foreign producer appoints an authorised representative by written mandate, and the registration number must be renewed by 31 March each year.
What changes next
The near-term calendar mixes new streams with the EU layer:
- 12 August 2026: the EU packaging regulation PPWR applies directly in Malta.
- Around April 2028: a textile and footwear scheme must be operating under the revised EU waste directive.
The collective schemes required for fishing gear and tobacco filters had not been confirmed as authorised in mid-2026, so treat those as still being set up.
Frequently asked questions about EPR in Malta
Quick answers to what comes up most often.
What is EPR in Malta?
Producer responsibility across six active streams, most registered with the environment authority ERA and fulfilled through authorised schemes or self-compliance with a guarantee.
What is the Maltese EPR register?
The producer register kept by ERA, which issues a registration number that must appear on invoices and be renewed by 31 March each year.
Is the deposit the same as packaging EPR?
No. The BCRS deposit on beverage containers is a separate, refundable return system, and BCRS also covers the EPR for those containers. Producers still handle packaging EPR for their other packaging through a packaging scheme.
Do foreign sellers need a Maltese representative?
For batteries and electronics, yes. A foreign producer appoints an authorised representative by written mandate to hold the ERA registration.
Does Malta have textile EPR yet?
Not yet. A scheme is required by around April 2028 under the revised EU waste directive, with textiles in ERA's expansion study.