Every Maltese person generates 167 kilos of municipal waste above the EU average every year, ranking second, according to a Eurostat study.

The study, which covered 31 countries (EU and EFTA), shows that Malta produced 647 kilos of municipal waste per person in 2016, beaten only by Denmark, with 777kg and followed by Cyprus – 640kg – and  Germany – 626kg.

On average, EU members generated 480kg of municipal waste per person in 2016. For the study, municipal waste was defined as waste mainly generated by households but can include waste from other sources (shops, offices or public institutions).

The countries that generated the least waste were Romania (261kg), Poland (307kg) and the Czech Republic (339kg). The study found that the amount of municipal waste generated per capita was on the rise between 1995 and 2016.

The highest average annual growth rates were recorded in Malta (2.5 per cent), Greece (2.4 per cent) and Latvia (2.1 per cent). In Malta’s case, it was up from 600kg in 2014 to 624kg the following year.

In total, Malta generated 283,000 tonnes of waste in 2016.

Across the EU, 30 per cent of the waste was recycled, 27 per cent incinerated and 25 per cent dumped in landfills in 2016. Recycling and composting accounted for two-thirds of waste treatment in Germany and more than half in Austria.

Only seven per cent of municipal waste was recycled in Malta in the year under review.

Over 200,000 tonnes underwent “total waste treatment”, and another 20,000 tonnes was recycled.