San Ġwann, Msida and Sliema are the towns with the highest number of fines for littering and taking out the rubbish on the wrong day, according to new figures tabled in parliament.
With a population of over 14,000, San Ġwann was slapped with 523 fines, Msida had 502 fines, and Sliema received 364 fines.
The figures are for the period January 2023, when a new national garbage collection schedule was introduced, and April 19, 2024.
In total, over 5,787 people were fined during this period, according to information provided by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri in reply to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Albert Buttigieg.
Camilleri said the contraventions were issued by the police and Local Enforcement System Agency (LESA) officials and through the use of camera footage.
To tackle Malta’s garbage crisis, a new national waste collection schedule came into force last year along with the introduction of fines for not separating waste correctly.
Anyone caught depositing waste in the wrong waste bags is liable to fines of up to €150 and people caught taking out waste bags on the wrong day can be slapped with a separate fine of €150.
For years, residents across the islands have complained about smelly and uncollected garbage bags strewn in their streets, a problem worsened with the arrival of tourists in the summer months.
While different local councils have raised their concerns that a ‘one size fits all’ mentality for garbage collection does not work, earlier this year Wasteserv recorded the “best year in Malta’s waste management” with fewer bags collected than ever and a record 20,000 tonnes of recyclable material collected.
Last year, Sliema residents even took to the streets to protest and demand action for their hometown which they said has become a “filthy, buzzing, concrete metropolitan”.
Another locality which had a high number of fines was Marsascala, where a total of 314 fines were issued. Two other large localities Ħamrun (302) and Mellieħa (245) also saw a high number of littering fines.
In comparison, Ta’ Xbiex only had 28 fines and Iklin had six, Vittoriosa, seven, and Mdina, eight. The capital city, Valletta, had 46 fines.
According to the figures, the locality in Gozo with the highest number of fines is Żebbuġ, 146, followed by Xagħra with 23 reported fines. Munxar comes in third, with just 20 fines.
Gozo’s capital, Victoria, has just nine fines. Two people were fined in Għajnsielem and three in Xewkija.
Organic waste bags are collected on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while black bags are collected on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Grey or green bags for recyclable materials are collected every Thursday.
Glass is collected on the first and third Friday of the month.