Energy and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli on Wednesday sidestepped questions on whether freezing bags containing organic waste are part of her ministry’s plan to combat a mounting waste crisis, after the CEO of Wasteserv made the suggestion on national television.

Interviewed on Xtra earlier this week, WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca suggested that people who struggle with the odours emanating from their organic waste bags should put them in the freezer to minimize the impact.

However, Dalli did not appear to endorse the unorthodox suggestion when questioned on Wednesday and directed her answers to say that a greater effort should be made by all to separate their waste.

Asked whether she thought Bilocca’s suggestion to put smelly bin bags in the freezer was ridiculous, Dalli did not reply but said that organic waste is a resource that the whole nation must continue making a collective effort to harness.

Ineffective waste collection was one of the issues raised in a protest held by Sliema residents on Tuesday evening. They said that their locality is being overrun by mountains of uncollected garbage as well as an infestation of rats.

Dalli said on Wednesday that the majority of people have been separating their waste, with Wasteserv noticing a 35% increase in organic waste as well as a 10% decrease in black garbage bags being collected.

However she acknowledged that some areas are still experiencing issues that need to be tackled.

“There are issues in certain localities that we recognize as a government and through different ministries and authorities we are discussing how they can be addressed,” Dalli said.

“Some issues relate to short lets and others relate to the need for more enforcement. But I believe that this is a national issue and that each and every one of us has to make an effort to address it,” she said. 

This meant that the government also had its role to play, Dalli added, but so did residents, councils and businesses. 

“I appeal to people to continue separating waste and to keep to the set schedule, because separating more waste means that our landfills will not need to take up any more land,” she said.

“This is our ultimate goal, to prevent landfills from growing.”