A garbage collector who dumped waste at a bring-in site has been fined €1,200, with the Environment and Resources Authority cracking down on abuses of waste laws. 

The collector's illegal dumping was caught on camera using CCTV at the location. 

The environmental regulator dished out €7,200 in fines for seven separate such infringements, following a decision taken by its board last week.

Other law-breakers included a waste carrier who removed the compressor of a refrigerator they collected as part of the bulky refuse service, and another caught carrying waste to be illegally incinerated.

They were both fined €1,200 each. The carrier who sought to incinerate waste was also warned that they would lose their ERA permit should they be caught with any other breaches. 

Another waste carrier who was caught  mixing black and organic waste bags together without an adequate separator was handed a €850 fine, while an individual whose employees were caught red-handed burning waste in the countryside was given a €1,200 fine. 

The ERA board also dismissed an objection presented by an unnamed fireworks factory which had sought to contest a fine for illegal dumping of waste. The factory’s representatives claimed that the waste in question was “pyrotechnic waste”, despite it containing plastic bottles, pieces of furniture and other mixed items. 

Waste being illegally incinerated in the countryside. Photo: ERA

A company that failed to settle its dues to register as a producer of packaging waste was also given a fine. 

In a statement announcing the fines, ERA said its enforcement officers “regularly monitor different waste collection processes, including WEEE items and other objects collected as bulky waste from households through the services provided by local government contractors, to ensure that no abuses are taking place.”

Reports of environmental or waste irregularities can be submitted to ERA on 2292 3500 or via the ERA customer care app on https://cc-eris.eraportal.org.mt/new-case/submit-new-case