Malta ranked second among EU countries in terms of municipal waste dumped in landfills in 2014, according to Eurostat.

The data shows that 88 per cent of waste mainly generated by households but also by small businesses and public institutions in Malta went into specially engineered landfills.

In contrast, other methods of waste treatment appear to be far from popular in Malta, with only eight per cent of Maltese waste recycled and four per cent composted. None was incinerated.

A report detailing the municipal waste generated in the European Union in 2014 shows that landfilling and recycling are the most used treatment methods in Europe, followed by incineration and compost.

“Treatment methods differ substantially between member states,” Eurostat noted. In Germany, more than half of the municipal waste (64 per cent) was either recycled or composted, whereas in Estonia 56 per cent of its waste was incinerated.

Only eight per cent of waste was recycled and four per cent composted. None was incinerated

The report also indicates that Malta generated 600 kilos of waste per person, 90 per cent of it being treated. These numbers are higher than the European average, where each person generated about 475 kilos of waste.

Denmark recorded the most generated waste, with 759 kilos per person, followed by Cyprus and Germany, with over 600 kilos. Romania had the lowest amounts, with only 254 kilos of municipal waste generated.

It was pointed out that the figures mentioned might not be precise for all EU member states: “Because of reasons such as weight loss due to dehydration, exports and imports of waste or temporary storage, the reported quantities of waste generated and treated do not match exactly for some member states” Eurostat pointed out.

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