Maltese households took out fewer black garbage bags this year than they did over the past 20 years, official figures show.
According to data provided by WasteServ, black bag collection levels will reach the lowest they have ever been since the company was formed in 2002.
“Comparing the current year to the corresponding period last year, domestic black bag collection decreased by 21%, meaning a reduction of 18,686 tonnes,” a WasteServ spokesperson told Times of Malta. “This is even more remarkable when one takes into consideration the fact that the population increased drastically in the last 25 years.”
The company attributes the encouraging results to educational campaigns undertaken by itself and the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), the introduction of mandatory waste separation, increased enforcement and new gate fees for the commercial sector.
The new, nationwide waste collection schedule launched at the beginning of the year also helped, it said. With the new schedule, black bags containing mixed waste are only collected twice a week.
Unfortunately, 30% of black bag waste from the commercial sector and 20% from households still consists of organic waste that can be separated in the organic bag
Organic bag collection increased by 35%, the figures show. The country’s organic waste is fed into a plant that transforms the waste’s gasses into green electricity. The rest is transformed into compost for agriculture.
The figures also mean less recyclable waste ended up in landfills, “limiting the negative impacts that have affected the surrounding landfills for decades”, the spokesperson said.
Latest NSO figures indicate, however, that this year’s increase in organic waste collection might be only reaching the 2019 and 2020 levels, after there was a decline over the past couple of years.
WasteServ said that, despite the improvement, it had not reached its desired objective yet. “Unfortunately, 30% of black bag waste from the commercial sector and 20% from households still consists of organic waste that can be separated in the organic bag,” the spokesperson said.
“These substantial figures mean that thousands of tonnes of valuable resources are currently going to waste instead of being transformed into reusable resources; not to mention the long-term adverse repercussions associated with these practices.”
The company also said its new Ħal Far Multi-Material Recovery Plant has produced 445 tonnes of wood, 200 tonnes of mattress foam, 45 tonnes of mattress springs and 19 tonnes of polystyrene material for recycling since it opened in June.
“The developments collectively contribute to a more promising environmental outlook for future generations,” the company said.