Relying on education and goodwill is not enough to solve the country’s garbage crisis, experts are arguing.

What is needed is the right infrastructure, proper enforcement, incentives to recycle as well as a move away from a “super-consumerist” mentality.

Times of Malta contacted two of the country’s leading experts in waste management to ask what can be done to improve the situation after a string of media reports showing overflowing bins and rubbish bags strewn across pavements and roads.

“Everything can’t remain the same if our population keeps growing,” said Marie Briguglio, economist and lecturer at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy.

She added that information about collection schedules should be available in more languages to reflect Malta’s increasingly multi-cultural makeup.

Last month, Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché attributed the locality’s rubbish problem to a lack of enforcement and the locality’s growing population, which rose sharply in 10 years to over 10,000 by 2021.

Expressing doubt at the effectiveness of recent efforts to focus on education rather than enforcement, Briguglio said this approach was “too slow” to solve the problem.

“In general, relying on education and goodwill is not enough; we need the right infrastructure and enforcement. The authorities should not be relying on the weakest and most long-term measures in the toolkit,” she said.

“Adequate enforcement is a no-brainer – it’s the best education you can have,” Briguglio said.

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and Local Enforcement Systems Agency (LESA) officials have the power to impose fines, starting at €150 and can go as high as €500 for repeat offences.

However, last month, a spokesperson for ERA said the regulator was focused on education.

Black bags should be more expensive, recycling bags free

Saying authorities should make waste collection “as easy as possible to do the right thing and as difficult as possible to do the wrong thing,” Briguglio suggested changing waste bag pricing structures.

Black bags used for mixed waste should be the most expensive – even incorporating a tax – while recycling and organic bags should be subsidised and given for free, thereby implementing a ‘polluter pays’ principle and being fair on those who separate their waste, she suggested.

“It’s important to note that plastic, paper, foil and even organic materials are all resources. They only become waste when mixed,” Briguglio said.

Despite the current issues, Briguglio thinks improvements are within reach.

“So many countries have improved their waste management systems, and we’ve had very good systems in place in the past,” she said, pointing to initiatives such as ‘recycle Tuesdays’ and the distribution of compost bins to households.

“We have things that would work... I don’t know why they don’t rely on the evidence.”

One solution for the country’s waste problem is to impose a tax on black bags used for mixed waste. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Mixed waste down 10%

According to figures provided by Wasteserv, since the start of the year, the amount of mixed and recycling bags received at its facilities has reduced, while organic waste has gone up.

From January to June, mixed waste in black bags went down by over 9,000 to almost 83,000, a reduction of 10% when compared to the same period last year.

With just over 13,000 tonnes of recyclable waste (grey/green bags) recorded, this was a reduction of almost 3,000 tonnes (almost 20%), a decrease attributed by the company to the introduction of the BCRS scheme.

Meanwhile, almost a third more organic bags were collected, jumping from around 12,000 to 16,400.

A spokesperson for Wasteserv said the company had been observing “very positive trends” since an educational campaign in October and the start of the new collection in January.

A “significant 35% rise” had been recorded in the separation of separated organic waste from October to July, she said, but added that despite the advancements there remained room for improvement.

“Unfortunately, 20% of waste found in black bags from households, as well as 30% of waste from the commercial sector, is still comprised of organic waste that could have been separated,” the spokesperson said.

Increased packaging for clothes, food

Margaret Camilleri Fenech is a lecturer at the University of Malta’s Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

She agrees with Briguglio that Malta’s rising population is contributing to the problem but believes that changes in attitude are also needed.

“We’re becoming more wasteful,” she said, pointing to trends in consumer behaviour such as ordering online, and the impacts caused by fast fashion and the electronics industry.

“A lot more things are being delivered to us – including food and drink – which means using much more packaging,” Camilleri Fenech said.

“We also have companies striving to produce a new product every two weeks... the fast fashion industry is a good example, producing new collections every week instead of just seasonally,” she said, calling the practice “super-consumerist.”

Responding to the figures provided by Wasteserv, Camilleri Fenech said the plastic waste diverted to the BCRS scheme could account for the reduced amount of household waste collected.

“Usually, around 30% of people who participate in recycling do so willingly... the others need an incentive,” she said, noting the success of deposit-refund schemes elsewhere in Europe.

“We never had people queuing to recycle before – we do now there’s money involved.”