Waste generation increased by 7% in 2023 – NSO

During 2023, the total amount of generated waste increased by 7% when compared to 2022, the NSO said Monday.

Waste generation

The total generation of solid waste in Malta during 2023 amounted to 2.9 million tonnes, increasing by 7% when compared to 2022. Hazardous waste increased by 62.7% or 28,446 tonnes, while non-hazardous waste increased by 6% or 159,406 tonnes. Taking into consideration the total waste generation, the mineral fraction increased by 8.6% (178,621 tonnes) while the non-mineral fraction increased by 1.5% (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).

Waste treatment

In 2023 waste treatment totalled 2.6 million tonnes, increasing by 3.1% 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).

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 Tal-Kus (Gozo) waste transfer station (1,601 tonnes).

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% or 31,551 tonnes. Recycling for this waste category went up by 7.9% 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.

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).