What is the trend in municipal waste generation?

MSW is waste collected from municipalities which originates from households, commercial activities, offices, institutions and small businesses.[1]

The components of MSW are: municipal waste, mixed trade/municipal waste and waste arriving at SAWTP, excluding rejects from SAWTP. This is an important waste stream since it is currently the best indicator for assessing performance in terms of generation and management of waste.[2]

MSW makes up 10.8 per cent of waste delivered at waste management facilities, and its share has increased slightly, (0.14 per cent) between 2005 and 2006.

During this period the amount of MSW delivered at waste management facilities increased by 5.8 per cent, while MSW per capita increased from 589 to 619 kilograms per capita.

This increase is in line with the general increase in MSW generated across Europe and may be related to the increase in household consumption as well as higher replacement rates for many products, as is reported by the EEA.[3]

Source: WasteServ Malta Ltd; NSO; NSO (National Statistics Office). 2007. Demographic Review 2006, NSO, Valletta; NSO.

Note: This data is subject to revision.

Environmental tip: Purchase intelligently! Purchase products with less packaging material.

[1] EEA (European Environment Agency). 2007. Europe's environment: The fourth assessment, EEA, Copenhagen.

[2] EEA (European Environment Agency). 2005. The European Environment - State and Outlook 2005, EEA, Copenhagen.

[3] EEA (European Environment Agency). 2007. Europe's environment: The fourth assessment, EEA, Copenhagen.

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