A truck driver who dumped blazing waste at a recycling plant in Magħtab fled the site without informing WasteServ, the company claims.

The resulting fire required considerable time and effort to put out and will force Wasteserv to dump roughly 200 tonnes of recyclable waste in the Magħtab landfill.

Wasteserv told Times of Malta that CCTV footage of the area revealed that blaze could have been quickly controlled had site managers been alerted. 

The video allegedly shows a truck driver peering into the back of his truck, which was already emanating smoke, then emptying its contents onsite, climbing into the driver's seat and leaving the complex.

He did not inform WasteServ there was a fire.

"The suspected driver of the truck appears from CCTV to be fully aware that he was unloading material on fire and drove off," the company said in a statement.

The driver has been identified and is being questioned by the police, the company said. 

The incident happened at around 9:19am on Saturday, when a flammable item disposed of in a recycling bag caught fire at Magħtab's Ecohive Complex, sending firefighters scrambling to the site.

The dump truck was carrying commercial mixed recyclable waste, meaning the flammable object did not come from a household.

The WasteServ spokesperson said this incident could have been easily avoided as the object was already on fire when it was unloaded by the dump truck.

"All the driver had to do was inform WasteServ there was a fire inside his truck and it would have been put out in minutes," he said.

Instead, the fire spread, igniting the plastic and paper on its way, and requiring at least four firefighting units to spend hours attempting to quell the flames.

The fire spread, igniting tonnes of plastic and paper on its way. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Around 200 tonnes of recyclables ruined

Video provided to Times of Malta showed huge mounds of charred waste smoking, as firefighters doused the piles with water.

Furthermore, from the looks of it, WasteServ will have to dump around 200 tonnes of recyclable material, the spokesperson said, although it is too early to say exactly how much will be lost.

Any material that came in contact with fire or water must be dumped in the landfill. It cannot be separated and sold for recycling.

WasteServ separates the contents of grey bags in a multi-million dollar facility in Magħtab. The different materials are baled and sold to recycling companies overseas.

CPD members working at the fire on Saturday morning. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The fire appeared to have been quelled by around 11am, though firefighters are still working their way through the waste dump to control any potential secondary break-outs.

"In the past, fires of this nature led to catastrophic consequences," WasteServ's statement said.

"It was only through a strong firefighting network supported by the best assets at the CPD that the fire, despite requiring substantial time to extinguish, was brought under control within minutes."

It said the incident underscores the importance of properly disposing of highly flammable materials, such as batteries, mobile phones, and flares, while reminding that all civic amenity sites will remain open throughout the festive season, closing only on Christmas and New Year's Day.