Updated 10.40am

A flammable item disposed of in a grey recycling bag caught fire at the Magħtab waste management complex on Saturday morning, sending firefighters scrambling to the site. 

A Civil Protection Department spokesperson told Times of Malta that at least four firefighting units were onsite to quell the flames. He was unable to provide more details at the time of writing.

Nobody is believed to have been injured in the incident.

Video provided to Times of Malta showed huge mounds of charred waste smoking, as firefighters doused the piles with water.  

The fire appeared to have been quelled by around 11am, though firefighters cautioned that they would need to observe the area for any secondary break-outs.

Firefighters work to extinguish flames at Magħtab. Video: Jonathan Borg

Illegal item in grey bag to blame

A spokesperson for Wasteserv, the state-run waste management agency, told Times of Malta that the fire was sparked by something inside a grey recycling bag, which is intended solely for dry recyclables. 

The item was already on fire when it was unloaded by a dump truck. 

The fire comes just weeks after Times of Malta revealed how 140 tonnes of recycling waste had to be dumped after Wasteserv discovered four explosives including flares dumped in a grey recycling bag. 

That discovery required the intervention of the Armed Forces' Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit to dispose of safely. 

Wasteserv has said that misuse of the recycling bags has led to its workers discovering anything from dead animals to used syringes in the grey recycling bags. 

Anyone caught disposing of waste in the wrong bag is liable to be fined. 

Magħtab has for decades served as the main store of the country’s waste.

The area is slated to be totally overhauled in the coming years with the development of an incinerator, organic waste processing plant and recycling plant, among others. Malta lags all other EU countries when it comes to waste recycling targets.