Malta has the fourth lowest rate of waste collection of electronic appliances and equipment, according to EU statistics.
A total of 3.9 kilograms of waste per Maltese inhabitant was collected in 2016, a far cry from the European average of almost nine kilos collected per person.
Romania collected the lowest amount of electronic waste, at 1.6 kilograms per person, followed by Latvia (2.5 kilos per inhabitant) and Cyprus (3.5 kilos per inhabitant).
Electrical and electronic equipment, commonly referred to as EEE, consists of any type of equipment that depends on, measures, generates or transfers electricity. In Malta, over 12,000 tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment are placed on the market every year.
Electrical electronic equipment waste could cause major environmental and health problems if not properly managed, Eurostat said.
The data shed light on the different performance levels of existing waste collection schemes and the levels of consumption of electrical and electronic goods, the EU statistics body added. The figures are way away from the target of collecting 50 per cent of what is put on the market each year. Malta has set an ambitious target of collecting 65 per cent by 2021.
Editorial: Overflowing civic amenity sites
It remains to be seen whether the government has planned enough space to dump the electronic waste.
The Times of Malta has just reported that the government was using a large site hosting tarmac batching plants as a storage facility for electronic waste. A €1 million contract was awarded to Bitmac Ltd without a call for tenders to store electronic waste deposited at civic amenity sites.
More than half (55.6 per cent) of the total electric and electronic equipment waste collected in Europe in 2016 was attributable to large household appliances. This was followed by IT and telecommunications equipment (14.8 per cent), consumer equipment/photovoltaic panels (13.5 per cent) and small household appliances (nine per cent). The remaining 7.2 per cent included electric tools, lighting, toys and sports equipment. Under current regulations, importers and producers need to register electronic items put on the local market, giving specific details on quantities, categories and brands.