Is waste generation increasing?
There was an increase of approximately 50 per cent in waste arriving at waste management facilities between 1996 and 2004. This was principally due to increases in construction and demolition waste, which made up 88 per cent of total waste in 2004, and in municipal waste (eight per cent).

Waste arriving at Malta's principal waste management facilities is a useful approximation for the amount of waste generated, although this information must be viewed in the context of increasingly exact measurement of waste arrivals over the years, particularly since 1997 when weighbridges were installed at Maghtab and Sant' Antnin.

The trend in construction and demolition waste collected is one of marked growth (112 per cent since 1996). Municipal solid waste and mixed trade and municipal waste have also increased substantially since 1996, albeit at a slower rate (57 per cent). In the period 1997-2004, the increase was 37 per cent. The amount of hazardous waste going to a landfill has declined substantially since 1999, and since 2003 this type of waste has been retained on site at the waste generator or exported through private initiative, pending the establishment of hazardous waste management facilities. Commercial and industrial waste decreased, possibly due to resource efficiency gains in industry and improved recycling practices.

The State of the Environment Report 2005 is a Mepa publication available on www.mepa.org.mt