Malta Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in malta, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Waste Management
Last published date:

Overview

The Maltese Government published a 2014-2020 Waste Management Plan to address the need for better waste management in Malta.  Under Malta’s plan, it must meet a series of targets to reduce the generation of waste and to increase source separation to promote recycling and reduce landfilling.  Malta is obliged to reach the various European Union set targets, and its single waste site has reached its capacity.  Under the new EU rules known as circular economy, by 2025, Malta should recycle at least 55 percent of municipal waste from households and businesses.  The target for recycling will then rise to 60 percent by 2030 and 65 percent by 2035.  It should recycle 65 percent of packaging materials by 2025, and 70 percent by 2030.  Separate targets are set for specific packaging materials, such as paper and cardboard, plastics, glass, metal, and wood.

Malta’s high population density, limited land space, and lack of economies of scale challenge its ability to achieve the required positive results.  Malta is currently one of the highest waste generators in the EU, and the country’s current waste strategy requires a radical overhaul.  The government announced plans in 2018 to build a new $185 million waste to energy plant utilizing moving grate combustion and issued a Request for Proposal for a public-private partnership for this plant in Q1 2020.  The new plant has a set target of 2023 for completion and should handle 114,000 tons of waste per year (or 40 percent of the waste generated in Malta), with the rest of the waste to be recovered and recycled.  The government confirmed its commitment to create different waste streams, such as a bottle return scheme, and to impose requirements for recycling at the source for commercial, industrial, and domestic waste, for the remaining 60 percent. 

Opportunities

Opportunities exists in Waste to Energy turn-key service; waste disposal equipment; and waste systems improvements; recycling systems, products and services; and landfill cleanups and renewals.

Resources

Wasteserv:  https://www.wsm.com.mt/

Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning:  https://environment.gov.mt/

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility