Malta launches Construction and Demolition Waste Strategy 2021-2030

The strategy aims to replace landfilling with waste reduction, reuse and recycling

Construction waste accounts for more than 80 percent of all waste generated in Malta, Environment, Climate Change and Planning Minister Aaron Farrugia said on Saturday, launching the government’s Construction and Demolition Waste Strategy 2021-2030.

Unflagging construction boom

The unprecedented increase of construction waste makes the adoption of a strategy to manage this waste a matter of great urgency, as it concerns both the public and the private sector. In the first place, 2013 saw a boom in the construction industry, which is continuing to the present day.

The government itself is contributing to the waste increase through major infrastructural projects, including road works. Also, the vision for a metro and a tunnel between Malta and Gozo means that Malta has to cope with construction waste that will be further generated, the Minister explained.

Moving towards a circular economy

The crux of the strategy drawn up by the Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) in collaboration with the Ministry is to move away from the concept of landfill disposal and towards reducing, re-using and recycling waste, ensuring the transition to a more circular economy.

The strategy’s main focus is raising the standards in the construction industry to guarantee a sustainable building process. Besides, it will ensure the use of quality construction materials and a better waste logistics at construction sites and beyond. Measures in this regard will be implemented over the next nine years.

The strategy also envisages the creation of a policy regulatory framework aimed at separating the link between development and waste generation.

Minister Farrugia emphasized that this strategy is a framework that will lead Malta to a change in the culture and behaviour in excavation work. In conclusion, he appealed on behalf of the Government to the competent authorities and stakeholders to commit themselves in earnest to the implementation of this strategy.

“Paradise of concrete”

According to data provided by The Times of Malta, Malta is the most concrete-laden country in Europe with buildings covering more than a quarter of its surface area. Since 2017, a total of 11,000 building permits have been issued each year – one for every 45 residents of the island nation with a population of 500,000. Media reports highlight the discontent of locals with the noise and pollution generated by ubiquitous construction projects.