Waste dumped in public landfills decreased by 6.1 per cent in 2009 when compared to the previous year, according to official statistics.

The amount of waste disposed of in non-hazardous public landfills fluctuated between 2004 and 2009, increasing in 2007 and 2008 but declining last year, the National Statistics Office said.

The increase in waste dumped in landfills amounted to 21 per cent in 2007 and 7.4 per cent in 2008 due to the reduced capacity brought about by the refurbishment of the Sant’Antnin waste treatment plant in Marsascala.

Between 2004 and 2006, the recycling plant was functional and the amount of treated waste was on the increase. There was a huge decrease of 61.4 per cent in 2007, when parts of Sant’Antnin was closed for upgrading.

Turning to non-hazardous mineral waste, usually generated by the construction industry, an annual average of 81.8 per cent was treated in the approved facilities between 2004 and 2009, the NSO said.

Waste separation increased in that same period, especially because a number of options were made available to the public.

In 2009, the bulk of separated waste was collected from civic amenity sites – an increase of 30.6 per cent compared to the previous year. Also, the domestic door-to-door waste collection scheme for recyclable materials, which used the grey bags, increased to 2,513 tonnes in 2009.

However, the use of bring-in sites fell by 13.2 per cent when compared to 2008.