Waste generation

What is the trend in waste generation?

The generation of waste represents a loss of resources, and the management of waste places pressure on the environment in terms of air and water quality, and land take-up.

In line with the relevant EU regulation, waste is divided into four categories: municipal; hazardous; construction and demolition; and commercial and industrial.

Waste generation increased by 48 per cent, to 1.4 million tonnes in 2010, mainly due to the fact that the construction and demolition waste fraction increased again after declining by 70 per cent between 2008 and 2009.

The share of municipal waste in Malta’s total waste generated declined from 27.4 per cent to 17.2 per cent in 2010.

The share of hazardous waste declined from 4.8 per cent to 2.5 per cent during the same period.

As noted above, the share of construction and demolition waste, which had declined significantly between 2008 and 2009, rose to 75.5 per cent in 2010, up from 61.5 per cent the previous year.

Overall, however, the decreasing trend in construction and demolition waste generated since 2004 has persisted. In 2010, the share of commercial and industrial waste fell to 4.8 per cent, despite the fact that the amount increased by 7,375 tonnes, due to the rise in construction and demolition waste.

In 2010, a total of 62.8 per cent of waste generated was landfilled, down from 74.7 per cent in 2009, while 10.3 per cent was recycled, and 1.0 per cent was recovered. The remaining waste was incinerated, stored or exported and some construction and demolition waste was disposed of at sea. For more information see The Environment Report Indicators 2010-2011 at http://www.mepa.org.mt/teri2010-2011 .