Councils have been requested to suggest alternative waste collection times by the end of the month to alleviate traffic congestion.

Local councils have been asked to change the time of waste collection to alleviate traffic congestion, but the government’s request has provoked mixed reactions from the councils.

A memo sent to local councils by the Department for Local Government earlier this month notes that, currently, waste collection times often clash with peak traffic hours, particularly school transport and morning and evening rush hours.

In the memo, councils are requested to suggest alternative waste collection times by the end of the month, or to give reasons why changing the times will not be possible.

A government spokesman told The Sunday Times of Malta that the new times are planned to come into effect before the start of the scholastic year. While respecting the councils’ autonomy, the spokesman said the move represented a “practical solution” to a long-standing problem.

St Paul’s Bay mayor Graziella Galea, however, insisted that avoiding the hours indicated in the memo would result in waste collection taking much longer than it currently did.

This was particularly the case in the summer months, she said, when the population (and hence the amount of waste to be collected) was much larger.

“The only plausible period to avoid all such times would be during the night,” Ms Galea said.

“However this would mean that waste may remain deposited outdoors for hours and this would create problems to all those moving around the locality.”

The move represents a practical solution to a long-standing problem

Ms Galea said night-time collection would also be in conflict with the needs of the commercial sector, as waste would be left lying around and collected during peak entertainment hours.

“Waste collection during the night was tested in the recent past but was not a success and the system was reverted back to waste collection during the day,” she added.

Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop, whose council has already switched to early evening waste collection, said the change had proved a positive one, resulting in less congestion and faster collection times.

“Since Sliema is heavily congested with traffic, and has a number of different building sites around the locality, it made more sense for us to collect waste when the streets are clear,” he said.

According to Mr Chircop, the amount of time taken for waste collection has actually been cut by several hours since the change three years ago.

“All in all, we have had very few complaints from residents,” he said.

“Initially, people were worried that they wouldn’t be home in time. But not every part of the locality is seen to at the same time, so many people have managed to adjust their schedules. We’ve also considered starting one hour later to make it easier for residents.”

Mr Chircop admitted that there had been a few complaints about rubbish being left outside throughout the day, but chalked the problem up to people not observing the collection regulations.

Moreover, he said, when the council had collected waste in the morning, bags used to be left out overnight, which was no longer the case.