Malta processed some four tonnes of plastic waste daily in the first weeks of 2021, marking a threefold improvement when compared to last year, Wasteserv has said. 

The waste management company was reacting to a report published by the National Audit Office, which gave an overview of the state of waste management in Malta, with particular attention to plastic recycling. 

The report painted a bleak picture, finding that only one per cent of plastic waste was recycled in 2019 and that two-thirds of all plastic waste ended up in the landfill. 

Among its recommendations, the NAO suggested that gate fees charged by WasteServ are amended to reflect the true cost of processing waste, in line with polluter pays principles, which holds waste generators liable for the pollution they produce. 

It also called on policy makers to make waste separation at source mandatory and called for shorter publication times for waste management data.

WasteServ said it had taken note of the report and it was in the process of implementing a number of its recommendations within the Long-Term Waste Management Plan, which runs until 2030. 

“Results are bearing fruit already, and in fact, despite the severe impediments caused by the COVID pandemic, Malta’s figures, when it comes to the sale of recyclables in 2020, increased by 78 per cent when compared to the same period in 2019,” the company said. 

On top of the improvement in the rates for processing plastic waste and sale of recyclables, WasteServ recalled that in January it had announced a €2 million investment on an automatic sorting line at the EcoHive complex in Naxxar, which is expected to be operational by the end of the year. 

The €500 million waste management plan also features the construction of a material recovery facility, which, it said, is “intended to enable Malta to be in a position to reach its recycling targets”.