Most of us are familiar with the term 'bulky refuse' and every local council provides a free door-to-door collection for such items on a weekly basis.
In addition to this service provided by local councils, householders will now be able to take their oversized items to one of the five Civic Amenity Sites, in their own vehicles, to be disposed of free of charge.
Work is well in progress for WasteServ to introduce these sites for the separate collection of bulky waste. These centres are controlled facilities where members of the public can bring and discard a variety of waste items separately without having to wait for the weekly bulky refuse service.
Trucks collecting items from households in all localities will also dispose of the bulky waste separately at these facilities so more material can be recovered and/or recycled instead of being deposited at the engineered landfill.
This month will see the opening to the public of the first two civic amenity sites in Maghtab and Mriehel. The other sites will be located in Hal Far, at the former dump area in Luqa and Xewkija, Gozo. The establishment of these sites is being co-financed through the European Regional Development Fund and over Lm1 million is being invested.
These centres will facilitate the separate disposal of bulk material, such as appliances, electronics, furniture, waste from DIY activities, garden waste, clothes, waste oils and household hazardous waste, such as solvents, neon tubes and paints.
The centres are aimed at establishing a service to centralise the collection of separated waste and consequently to facilitate the recovery of secondary materials for recycling.
Depending on the condition of the item it is either taken by a recycling contractor for refurbishment and re-use. White goods, such as washing machines that are beyond repair, are usually taken by recycling contractors for their scrap metal value and/or spare parts.
Fridges and freezers, if in good condition, are picked up for re-use purposes. However, if they are beyond repair, they are sent to the recycling plant where, after the removal of hazardous components, they are recycled.
When waste is separated before being thrown away, material that can be recycled is not polluted by other waste. In this way, the material collected is cleaner, making it possible to process into high recycled products. For more information about these Civic Amenity Sites call the WasteServ freephone 8007-2200 or 2385-8000.