Incentivise private sector to invest in recycling facilities, NGOs tell government

Environmental NGOs issue recommendations on waste management after damning auditor general report

The private sector should be incentivized to invest in sorting and recycling facilities, environmental NGOs have suggested to government.

The joint recommendations titled Long term Waste Management Plan in the Maltese Islands, follow a document by the Auditor General Charles Deguara, who in a report published on Monday showed how Malta is lagging in national and waste management targets.

The report finds that inadequate waste separation at source is leading to recyclable waste being dumped in landfills. This, Deguara noted, is by far the most expensive solution from a financial and environmental standpoint.

The NGOs said more awareness on waste separation is required among the general public, stating there is an issue with “trust” in waste collection.

“Sometimes when it is raining heavily, a large number of garbage bags are carried away and not collected. This is a huge problem, in particular for non-biodegradable items. Suggestion to encourage waste disposal in communal skips / bring-in sites or to narrow the waste collection timeframe,” the NGOs said.

They said that while a shift top mandatory recycling would be the optimal solution, the country requires a good transition which would properly support households.

“We appreciate the reduction of black bag collection to twice weekly, but we suggest that this is eventually reduced to once a week. This should be coupled with specific collections for nappies and sanitary products,” they said.

On food waste, the NGOs said measures should be put in place to limit food waste.

“Policies should be in place to ensure that hospitality and retail are not allowed to dispose of leftover food which is in good condition. It must be donated to food banks or charities. This is mentioned. It must be put in place and enforced, the report read.

Accountability of public authorities must also be ensured according to the NGOs, who insisted on the importance of breaking down waste management targets to local council region level, while supporting local councils to help reach these targets with a realistic budget.

The landfilling of industrial waste should be prohibited, the NGOs said.

“Industries must sort waste and if no system is currently in place to manage their hazardous waste, they should be constrained to manage or export the waste themselves,” the report read.

Dumping of construction waste at sea should not be allowed, they said.

Martin Galea De Giovanni chairperson of Friends of the Earth Malta said the “damning NAO report” shows a clear failure in the country’s waste management strategy.

“We understand that some decisive measures might not be popular with some sectors, but unless bold steps are taken now, the economic, social and environmental price to pay will be even higher in the long term,” he said.

Christine Cassar from Moviment Graffitti concluded that while prevention of waste generation is the focus of an important point, some measures, like the paper-reduction through the unsolicited mail project, “seem quite piddling.”

“Even though we agree that every step helps, presenting such measures cannot be a way of taking the focus off more ambitious measures such as disposal fees for industries and high importation tax on secondary packaging,” Cassar said.