Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512734
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 DECEMBER 2023 NEWS NEWS IN 2022, the generation of municipal waste amounted to 328,394 tonnes, increasing by 12,070 tonnes or 3.8 per cent over 2021. When viewed by waste type, in absolute terms, increas- es were most pronounced for mixed municipal waste (15,285 tonnes), other municipal waste (1,574 tonnes) and bulky waste (1,567 tonnes). On the other hand, the main decreases were registered for paper and cardboard (2,888 tonnes), bio-waste from kitchens and canteens (1,967 tonnes), and wood (1,202 tonnes). Data on municipal waste generation by waste collec- tion type shows that decreases were registered for the organic waste collection (2,678 tonnes), civic amenity sites (1,999 tonnes), other collection (593 tonnes), the green/grey bag collection (422 tonnes) and bring-in sites (265 tonnes). All the other collection types showed increases, of which the main ones were for the door-to-door collec- tion of the black bag by local councils (10,659 tonnes), black bag collection from businesses and institutions (4,626 tonnes), and bulky waste collection from house- holds, businesses, and institutions (1,567 tonnes). In 2022 the collection of separate waste fractions made up 27.9 per cent of the municipal waste generation, down from the 31.1 per cent that was registered in 2021. Indicators on the municipal waste generation per cap- ita show that when the average population is taken into consideration, in 2022 each person generated 618 kilo- grams of waste, going up by 1.3 per cent over the previ- ous year. However, when the net tourist equivalent population is factored in, it can be noted that the municipal waste generation for 2022 amounted to 581 kilograms per per- son. This figure shows a decrease of 2.0 per cent over 2021 mainly because of the higher number of tourists that visited Malta in 2022. Municipal waste treatment During 2022, the total amount of treated municipal waste decreased by 6,644 tonnes or 2.1 per cent over that recorded in 2021, amounting to 317,280 tonnes. The share that went to landfilling from the total treat- ed municipal waste stood at 86.2 per cent, going up from 83.1 per cent that was recorded a year before. In absolute terms, landfilled municipal waste increased by 4,201 tonnes, with the main contributors to this in- crease being mixed municipal waste (2,678 tonnes), rejects that resulted from the mechanical treatment of waste (1,795 tonnes) and bulky waste (1,314 tonnes). In contrast, the landfilling of wood waste declined by 3,746 tonnes. When compared to 2021, municipal waste that was re- cycled decreased by 2,083 tonnes or 5.0 per cent to a total of 39,807 tonnes. Paper and cardboard were the most recycled material at 60.6 per cent of the total recycled waste. Increases in recycling were registered for paper and cardboard (10.4 per cent), bio-waste from kitchens and canteens (9.0 per cent) and waste electrical and elec- tronic equipment (4.2 per cent). On the other hand, decreases were recorded for the recycling of clothes and textiles (97.2 per cent), metals (55.4 per cent), plastic (12.8 per cent) and glass (9.1 per cent). In 2022, municipal waste that underwent energy recov- ery treatment amounted to 4,099 tonnes, declining by 67.8 per cent over 2021. Municipal waste generated during 2022 capped at 328,394 tonnes, up 3.8 per cent over 2021 Municipal waste collection by type Municipal waste generation per capita (including net tourist equivalent population) by waste type Municipal waste treatment by treatment category