Major construction projects will have to re-use or recycle at least 40% of the waste they generate by 2028, according to a new legal notice published on Friday. 

The legislation outlines a set of new rules for contractors and developers to manage the construction waste generated by projects and includes obligations to make sure that waste from demolition, excavation and construction work is transported and disposed of according to established guidelines. 

As of January 1, 2028, planning applications for major works or buildings of 16 or more residential units must reuse or recycle at least 40% of excavated material. 

Developers can also achieve this target through off-setting from other projects that they may have ongoing. 

The 40% target was first proposed in a nine-year plan for Malta's construction waste published in 2021. It has now been enshrined in law. 

Pre-demolition audit rule by 2026

From January 1, 2026, such projects will also have to submit a pre-demolition audit before they can be issued with the commencement of works notice, the document which allows construction work to begin. 

The audit, which must be compiled by an architect or a similarly competent official, will identify the different types of waste the project is expected to generate, set out a plan of how the different materials can be separated at source and whether they are suitable for re-use or recycling and estimate a percentage of how much of that material can be recycled in the project itself. The audit will also have to justify why the structure in question needs to be demolished. 

The government announced in 2021 that it would be embarking on a nine-year plan to tackle Malta's construction waste problem. 

Roughly 80% of all of the country's waste comes from the construction industry and only around 20% of that is currently recycled into aggregate material.

The legal notice also sets up other targets to be achieved by developers on construction projects, including: 

• Re-using or recycling at least 40% of hazardous materials for activities that exclude backfilling 

• Having at least 15% of the material used in finishing works be re-used or recycled

• Having at least 25% of all the granular material used in a project be made up from recycled material. 

Developers then have up to three months from the issuance of a Planning Authority compliance certificate to declare that they have achieved the percentage rates outlined in the legal notice. 

The legislation also says that developers should implement measures to minimise the generation of waste on a project and separate waste on site even during the planning phase and that this effort must continue throughout the lifetime of the project. 

Contractors will also be bound to ensure that waste is transported by entities which are adequately licensed to transport construction waste and that it is ultimately processed by authorised facilities.