The Resources Ministry said today that an EU scoreboard which gave Malta low marks on waste management is two years old and does not reflect the current situation.

According to the report, Malta ranking 25 out of 27. Only Bulgaria and Greece fared worse

The island was criticised for being slow to meet EU standards although efforts to improve were recognised, particularly compared to the situation before Malta joined the European Union in 2004.

The report said Malta had still not implemented a waste prevention programme, it had very high levels of land filling, low recycling levels and was yet to reach targets on biodegradable waste.

Malta was still land filling 86.3 per cent of its total municipal waste and recycling only seven per cent, the study found.

The Ministry said the EU report was based on the situation when Wasteserv was the only waste management operator. There were now several operators and the situation was changing fast.

Whereas up to 2010 some 85% of waste was dumped in the landfill and 15% was recycled, at present, some 57% of waste went to landfill and 43% was recycled.

Waste management had become a sector for job creation and some companies were exploiting waste as a resource. 

By December 2011, more than 85,000 tons of waste had been collected in civic amenity sites.

The ministry also recalled how the landfill had been replaced by an engineered landfill and a modern incinerator had replaced the former polluting facilities.