More than 23,000 tonnes of bulky waste, including construction debris, wood, glass, tyres and hazardous waste, were collected from civic amenity sites last year.

Figures obtained by this news­paper from Wasteserv Malta Ltd, which manages these facilities, show that almost half of the bulky refuse consisted of construction debris (10,079 tonnes), followed by 4,446 tonnes of landfill waste.

In total, the public disposed of 23,364 tonnes of unwanted bulky items, up 17 per cent over 2012.

Such waste, which could include hazardous material, is treated locally or shipped overseas. Items like paint, medicine and clinical waste are incinerated at the Marsa thermal treatment facility whereas electronic equipment, mattresses and tyres are handed over to private contractors.

Construction debris is deposited in inert waste quarries and hazardous items such as batteries are sorted by type at Wasteserv facilities and then shipped overseas.

The figures show there was a huge increase in the amount of glass collected; from a modest six tonnes in 2011 to 109 tonnes last year.

On the other hand, during the same period, fewer batteries were disposed of in these facilities, with the total volume dropping by two thirds from 45 to 15 tonnes.

Batteries are classified as hazardous waste due to the possible leakage of corrosive chemicals into the environment.

Electronic equipment, paint, chemicals, solvents, lubricating oils, edible oils, asbestos, light bulbs, neon tubes and used medicines are also classified as hazardous.

Last year, a total of 1,210 tonnes of electronic equipment, mainly consisting of monitors, TV sets, printers and personal computers, was disposed of in the civic amenity sites.

Recently, a campaign urging the public to dispose of spent light bulbs in these facilities was also launched in parallel with a similar initiative targeting the collection of plastic bottles.

The first civic amenity site was opened in late 2006 in Magħtab and since then four more facilities were opened in Mrieħel, Luqa, Ħal Far and Xewkija.

A sixth facility in Ta’ Qali is in the pipeline and will be catering for waste generated by the vegetable market.

According to official data published by the National Statistics Office, there has been a steady rise in the volume of waste collected in civic amenity sites from year to year, with the exception of 2012 when there was a slight decline.

Source: Wasteserv Malta Ltd