Malta lagging behind Europe in waste recycling

88% of the municipal waste generated in Malta in 2013 was landfilled, the second-highest percentage out of all EU member states

Only 6% of the municipal waste that was treated in Malta in 2013 was recycled, a lower percentage than all other EU countries except for Romania (3%) and Slovakia (4%).

88% of the waste was landfilled, a higher figure than in all other EU countries except Romania (97%). Only 5% of the waste was composted.

In contrast, Eurostat statistics show that recycling and composting together accounted in 2013 for nearly two-thirds (65%) of waste treatment in Germany and for more than half in Slovenia (61%), Austria (59%), and Belgium (55%).

Malta also generated an average of 570kg of waste per person in 2013, the sixth highest figure in the EU, behind Denmark (747kg), Cyprus (624kg), Germany (617kg), Ireland (586kg), and Austria (578kg). At the other end of the scale, less than 300kg of waste was generated per person in Romania, Estonia and Poland.

The European Union average of waste generated per person in 2013 amounted to 481 kg. Since 2007, the generation of municipal waste per person has constantly decreased in the EU.