Solid Waste Management: 2023
Waste generation
The total generation of solid waste in Malta during 2023 amounted to 2.9 million tonnes, increasing by 7.0 per cent when compared to 2022. Hazardous waste increased by 62.7 per cent or 28,446 tonnes, while non-hazardous waste increased by 6.0 per cent or 159,406 tonnes. Taking into consideration the total waste generation, the mineral fraction increased by 8.6 per cent (178,621 tonnes) while the non-mineral fraction increased by 1.5 per cent (9,231 tonnes).
In absolute terms the highest increases were noted for non-hazardous Mineral waste from construction and demolition (179,387 tonnes) and hazardous Discarded vehicles (17,204 tonnes). On the other hand, the most notable decreases were registered for non-hazardous Household and similar wastes (22,738 tonnes) and Ferrous metallic wastes (18,400 tonnes) (Table 1, Chart 1).
Chart 1. Annual waste generation by category aggregates
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Waste treatment
In 2023 waste treatment totalled 2.6 million tonnes, increasing by 3.1 per cent or 79,413 tonnes over 2022. Increases were registered for Recycling (123,333 tonnes), Other disposals (5,721 tonnes), Energy recovery (5,118 tonnes) and Incineration (1,194 tonnes). Conversely, decreases were recorded for Landfilling (29,979 tonnes) and Backfilling (25,974 tonnes).
When taking into account the location of treatment during 2023, the figures show that for the amounts treated in Malta, Recycling recorded the highest increase (108,818 tonnes) while Landfilling had the highest decrease (30,164 tonnes). Regarding treatment in overseas facilities, all treatment operations showed increases with the most notable being Recycling (14,515 tonnes) followed by Energy recovery (5,118 tonnes) (Table 2, Chart 2).
Chart 2. Annual waste treatment by type of operation
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During 2023, increases were registered for the waste input into the Malta North Mechanical-Biological Treatment Plant (17,935 tonnes) and the Marsa Thermal Treatment Facility (1,141 tonnes). On the other hand, waste that was landfilled at Għallis fell by 30,164 tonnes. Decreases were also noted for waste input into the Sant’ Antnin Waste Treatment Plant (23,949 tonnes) and the Tal-Kus (Gozo) waste transfer station (1,601 tonnes) (Tables 3 to 5).
In terms of weight, the highest amount of waste treatment taking place in Malta was recorded for inert mineral waste. In 2023 the backfilling of Mineral waste from construction and demolition went down by 4.7 per cent or 31,551 tonnes. Recycling for this waste category went up by 7.9 per cent or 109,934 tonnes. In 2023 disposal at sea of mineral waste and backfilling of Other mineral wastes both advanced by 5,721 and 5,577 tonnes, respectively (Table 6, Chart 3).
Chart 3. Annual inert mineral waste treatment in Malta by type of operation
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Separate collection of waste
The collection from the grey bag and bring-in sites went down by 5,084 tonnes and 273 tonnes respectively, mainly in response to the implementation of the Beverage Container Refund Scheme which collected 9,909 tonnes of glass, plastic and metals in 2023. During the year under review increases were registered in the collection from Civic Amenity Sites (6,830 tonnes), the organic bag (6,468 tonnes) and the door-to-door collection of glass (146 tonnes) (Table 7, Chart 4).
Chart 4. Annual separate collection of waste fractions by type of collection
Tables
Tables
Methodological Notes
1. Data which is presented in this News Release has been sourced from the administrative records of Circular Economy Malta, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), Transport Malta and WasteServ Malta Ltd.
2. In Table 1 the whole time series has been revised in order to include the total amount of secondary waste. Secondary waste is waste that is generated by waste treatment operations and which requires further treatment by operations that are classified as final treatment (treatment operations shown in Table 2). Previously, only Sludges and liquid wastes from waste treatment, Sorting residues, and Mineral waste from waste treatment and stabilised waste were included. Now, secondary wastes across all waste categories have been included.
3. Revisions have been made to 2022 data due to updated figures that were made available by data providers. In this release, 2023 data should be considered as provisional.
4. Waste generation figures shown in Table 1 are derived from records kept by the relevant entities about the waste inputs into waste management facilities. In this process, double counting for inter-facility transfers is eliminated, except for waste that is generated as a result of waste treatment processes (secondary waste).
5. Table 2 comprises a breakdown of waste that was treated in Malta and waste that was sent for treatment in other countries into six waste treatment categories. These are based upon the categories that are used for the reporting of the Waste Statistics Regulation to Eurostat. Waste that is held in temporary storage does not form part of these categories.
6. Waste items in Tables 1 and 3 to 6, are classified according to the Statistical European Waste Classification (EWC-Stat. Version 4).
This classification has been published in the Waste Statistics Regulation 2150/2002 (WStatR) and is a substance-oriented nomenclature used to report waste generation and treatment data to Eurostat. Countries such as Malta, that collect data according to the European Waste Catalogue, can convert the data into EWC-Stat waste categories by means of the table of equivalence which is published in Annex 3 of the WStatR.
7. Discrepancies in the data that is published in this news release and the data that are available on the Eurostat website occur since data for all waste categories reported in this news release are in wet weight. For Eurostat reporting, sludges and dredging spoils are reported in dry weight. Differences may also result due to updates in the source data.
8. Totals for waste generation (Table 1) and treatment (Table 2) are not equal due to the storage of waste at certain waste treatment facilities. Moreover, Table 1 includes intentional double counting due to the inclusion of secondary waste generation from waste treatment activities.
9. Tables 1 and 2 comprise data from all waste management facilities and waste brokers that are permitted by ERA to operate in this sector. Comprehensive lists of these entities can be found on the ERA website as follows:
Waste management facilities
Quarries permitted to accept inert waste
Waste brokers
10. In Table 2, Recovery – Recycling taking place in Malta mainly comprises inert mineral waste. Other materials generally need to be exported for recycling because of the lack of recycling facilities in Malta.
11. Waste generation and treatment data include estimates that are worked out by the NSO for the non-response of inert mineral waste treatment facilities and for mineral waste that is generated by softstone quarrying. The latter is estimated at 30 per cent of the total volume of quarried material.
12. Definitions:
● Inert mineral waste managed in quarry sites: Waste which mainly consists of stones, concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics from construction and demolition. It also includes clean geological material from excavation works.
● Dredging spoils: Mineral waste that originates from port maintenance activities and is made up of sediments excavated from the seabed.
● Bring-in sites: Collection depots for clean source-segregated recyclable materials. Four types of materials are collected: glass, metals, plastic and paper/cardboard.
● Civic amenity sites: Collection depots for the separate disposal of household bulky waste and recyclables. Up to 2023, there were six sites operated by WasteServ Malta Ltd.
● Door-to-door green/grey bag collection: Collection of mixed paper, metals and plastics from households on pre-determined weekdays that has been taking place since 2011. Waste which is collected in this manner is sorted by material type in waste treatment facilities.
● Door-to-door glass waste collection: Collection of glass waste from households usually held once or twice a month and that has been taking place since 2014.
● Door-to-door organic waste collection: Collection of organic waste from households on pre-determined weekdays. This collection started as a pilot project covering a limited number of localities in 2015 and was extended nation-wide as from 31 October 2018.
● Beverage Container Refund Scheme: Nationwide scheme where a deposit of €0.10 is added to the purchase price of each beverage in containers that are covered by the scheme. Consumers can recoup their deposits by returning the empty beverage container to an approved redemption location which can either be a retailer or a Reverse Vending Machine. The scheme commenced on 14 November 2022 and is operated by BCRS Malta Ltd.
● Recovery: Any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy.
● Recycling: A subset of recovery and means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials, or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material (e.g. composting, anaerobic digestion, etc.) but excludes the use as fuels and the use for backfilling operations.
● Backfilling: A recovery operation where waste is used in excavated areas (such as underground mines, gravel pits) for the purpose of slope reclamation or safety or for engineering purposes in landscaping and where the waste is substituting other non-waste materials which would have had to be used for the purpose.
● Energy recovery: A recovery operation that takes place whenever both the conditions and energy efficiency thresholds which are provided in the ‘Guidelines on the energy efficiency formula for incineration facilities’ related to the Waste Framework Directive are met.
● Disposal: Any operation which is not recovery even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy.
● Landfilling: The deposit of waste on landfills within the meaning of Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste. This includes landfills for inert waste, non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste above ground and landfills for the underground storage of waste.
● Incineration: A disposal operation where the main purpose of the incineration is the thermal treatment of waste in order to reduce the volume and the hazardousness of the waste, and to obtain an inert product that can be disposed of.
● Other disposal: Operations such as land treatment, deep injection, impoundment of waste and the release of waste into water bodies. These disposal methods can be used only for a limited range of waste types. In Malta, these operations are limited to disposal at sea at the official spoil ground located off the Grand Harbour area.
● Pre-treatment: Preparatory waste treatment operations that are necessary before final treatment (both for recovery and disposal) can take place. In Malta, these treatments comprise essentially waste sorting and mechanical-biological treatment.
13. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
Sources and methods
Statistical concepts
Metadata
Classification: List of recovery and disposal operations (Annex I and Annex II of Directive 2008/98/EC)
14. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
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Solid Waste Management: 2023
- During 2023, the total amount of generated waste increased by 7.0 per cent when compared to 2022.
- The mineral fraction increased by 8.6 per cent (178,621 tonnes) while the non-mineral fraction increased by 1.5 per cent (9,231 tonnes).
- Waste treatment reached a total of 2.6 million tonnes, increasing by 3.1 per cent over 2022.
- In 2023 recycling taking place in facilities located in Malta and abroad increased by 7.8 per cent (108,818 tonnes) and 12.6 per cent (14,515 tonnes) respectively.
- The collection from the grey bag and bring-in sites went down by 5,084 tonnes and 273 tonnes respectively, mainly in response to the implementation of the Beverage Container Refund Scheme which collected 9,909 tonnes of glass, plastic and metals in 2023.
