Public waste collection falls in 2025 as minister highlights cleaner environment

The Cleaning and Maintenance Division collected less waste in 2025 than the previous year, with the environment minister attributing it to a greater commitment to public cleanliness. 

Some 19,500 tonnes of waste, 9,000 tonnes of which consisted of construction waste, were collected last year. 

By contrast, the total figure for 2024 was significantly higher, standing at 57,300 tonnes, including 46,000 tonnes of construction waste.

Environment Minister Myriam Dalli and parliamentary secretary Glenn Bedingfield announced the figures on Wednesday.

The minister said the higher figure recorded in 2024 was mainly due to the large volume of waste collected from Ħal Far in preparation for the track project.

Excluding construction waste, less waste was collected in 2025. In 2024, 11,300 tonnes of non-construction waste were collected, compared to 10,500 tonnes in 2025.

“This reduction reflects the commitment of the public, who are fully collaborating in the national effort towards greater public cleanliness,” Dalli said.

Throughout 2025, the division received 23,090 reports, successfully resolving 98 per cent of them. Most reports were submitted through the app (13,794), followed by phone calls (7,101) and emails (1,910).

The minister also referred to the BCRS door-to-door collection project, which has collected around 1.13 million beverage containers since it was launched last year. Since its introduction, 10,604 requests have been made by 3,628 people.

“We will be taking the BCRS scheme to a national level, making the largest-ever investment in maintenance in every locality, and for the first time establishing a structured collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo so that the benefits reach everyone without exception,” Bedingfield said.

He added that the division is currently carrying out tests and identifying potential sites for the installation of underground bins at ten different locations.

Wasteserv also announced a reduction in waste collected recently. Last week, it said that mixed waste dropped by almost a third, with both organic and recyclable waste collection rising since a major waste collection reform was introduced in 2021.

The division also recently announced that it will begin providing residential street cleaning services to five additional localities.

The division's work during Storm Harry

Bedingfield also highlighted the clean-up work carried out by the division’s workers, describing it as “one of the largest operations” undertaken by the division.

The division received around 270 emergency calls related to storm damage, with workers collecting approximately 550 tonnes of waste and debris.

"Last week, Storm Harry showed us how crucial these workers are and how important the work that they do is. They were out there when many of us were comfortable at home," Dalli said.

From Marsascala alone, the division collected 25 truckloads of waste a day after the storm.