The waste produced by Malta is on the rise and shows no sign of being reduced. On average, in 2008, each member of the population produced 44 kilos more of waste than in the previous year. Two years before that, the level of waste per person had risen by 28 kilos over the year before. Taking the period 2002 to 2008 as a whole, the Maltese were disposing of about 28 per cent more waste for every man, woman and child when compared to what was the case almost a decade ago.

Malta's 696 kilos per person, compared to the highest producer of waste in the EU - Denmark with its 802 kilos of waste per person - may appear relatively modest but masks major differences in the way the waste, and its related environmental hazards, is dealt with.

Denmark incinerates over half of all its waste and recycles the rest. The crucial difference is that Malta still "landfills", that is, it digs up large tracts of land to bury waste in it, almost all - 97 per cent - of its waste. Such heavy reliance on landfills can only be bad for the environment. One need only hark back to the notorious Magħtab and Il-Qortin landfills, or, better still, "dumps" - both now thankfully closed and gradually being rehabilitated - and recall the intense public debate over the managed landfill replacement for them. The consequences of continuing to rely almost entirely on landfills to bury waste in a country as small as Malta, and with an increasing waste disposal problem, are clearly undesirable from both a land-use and environmental perspective.

Under pressure from the EU, Malta has drawn up, and has been steadily implementing, a solid waste management strategy for the last nine years. The objective has been to put in place an integrated approach to waste management which should, among other things, lead to a reduction in the quantity of waste and an increase in the amount recycled and composted.

Incinerated waste is on the increase, rising from just under 6,000 tonnes in 2008 to about 7,000 tons in 2009, an increase of more than a quarter. Moreover, the situation should improve considerably in the months ahead as the new recycling plant in Marsascala gets fully under way.

Under EU rules, Malta is obliged to cut the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfills by a quarter before the end of this year and by half by 2013 when compared to 1995 levels. On present forecasts, the new Sant'Antnin plant will be in a position to process and treat 36,000 tonnes of dry recyclable material and 35,000 tonnes of organic waste, thus cutting dramatically the amount to go to the landfill site. No stone should be left unturned and all should fully cooperate to ensure such targets are met.

Any advanced economy has to cope with the consequences of waste. Good waste management is not, however, simply a matter of building more treatment plants or managed landfills, vitally important though these are. It also requires a civic effort by society - based on education and a culture change - to promote good practice in homes, industries, hotels and other institutions. Waste prevention, re-use and recycling should be encouraged, backed up by economic incentives (the polluter pays) to discourage waste and improve waste management practices. A civilised society is one that does not fly-tip or litter - still a scar on many parts of the countryside - and that manages its waste disposal in the most environmentally-friendly manner.