How technology and innovation can help keep Malta clean

Last week I wrote about how moving from traditional cleaning schedules to data driven smart systems can revolutionise the way we try to keep Malta clean.

One of the clearest opportunities for this improvement lies in waste collection. Traditional collection routes are usually based on schedules. Trucks visit bins whether they are full, half full or sometimes barely used.

Smart bins reverse that logic. Sensors measure fill levels and send the information to a central system. Software can then identify which bins need attention and calculate more efficient collection routes.

Melbourne, Australia, is rolling out the installation of 500 solar compacting bins and in Scotland, Edinburgh has installed 11,000 smart sensors in communal and litter bins. In these places, councils use the data to improve collection routes, save fuel and respond more quickly when bins approach capacity. 

Rotterdam provides another example. With sensors-equipped bins in circa 6,540 waste containers, fill levels are measured hourly and collection routes are generated dynamically rather than relying only on predetermined schedules.

An EU-backed evaluation of the Rotterdam project reported an estimated annual savings equivalent to 72 tonnes of CO2 from the smart-waste solution.

The value of a smart bin is not simply knowing whether it is full, the value comes from using that information to change the entire collection operation.

More waste capacity without using more space

Smart bins can also incorporate compaction. Instead of allowing loose waste to occupy the full volume of a container, internal compactors compress the contents and increase their effective capacity.

In 2025, Milan announced the installation of 60 additional smart compacting bins on two busy streets. The units can hold up to 600 litres, more than five times the capacity of the traditional bins and sensors monitor fill levels so collection routes can be optimised.

For Malta, this could be especially useful along our most bustling promenades, beaches and entertainment areas.

Another option is to use the space beneath our streets. Underground and semi-underground waste systems are already operating in many cities around the world.

Most of the storage capacity is located below ground, leaving only the depositing point visible at street level. This can create more capacity while reducing the visual and spatial impact of waste infrastructure.

It is true that these are not cheap interventions. Excavation, buried utilities, maintenance and specialised collection arrangements all have to be considered, and such systems will not suit every street.

However, higher capacity means fewer collections, and fewer journeys mean less traffic, less fuel and lower emissions.

We cannot install these solutions everywhere. But where a street or promenade is being reconstructed anyway, I believe these systems should at least be part of the discussion before the concrete is poured. Of course, technology does not absolve us as citizens from doing our part to keep Malta clean. But by combining smarter technology with greater civic responsibility, we can create cleaner, more efficient and more liveable spaces for everyone.

The real change is the information

The most important development is not any single machine. It is the information connecting them. One dashboard can show which bins are approaching capacity, how much waste has been collected, how many collections were avoided, how far collection vehicles travelled, how much water equipment used, and what was saved in fuel, energy and emissions.

Imagine what we could do with all that data.

Projects across Europe already combine sensors, fleet-management systems and weighing data to reach that visibility.

Over time we can use data to predict demand. If bins on a promenade fill every Friday evening in July, resources can be positioned before they overflow. If public conveniences surge during a festa or annual music festival, cleaning teams can be assigned accordingly. If one route keeps servicing mostly empty containers while another overflows, then the cleaning schedule can be rewritten.

This is how we can move from answering complaints to managing cleanliness.

None of this requires transforming the system overnight. It could start with a few measured pilots. Each should be judged on evidence. Did it cut cleaning hours, water use and journeys? Was the area cleaner? Did complaints fall? Was public space released? Did it deliver better value for the public?

Technology should not be adopted simply because it is novel, but where it demonstrably produces a cleaner environment using fewer resources, less space and better information.

Malta will keep welcoming visitors, and residents will rightly expect cleaner streets and more efficient services. On a small, densely populated island, simply adding more bins, vehicles and manual rounds has a limit. Perhaps that limit has already been reached.

The opportunity we have is to work smarter. That is something worth exploring.