While Malta has, in the past, dumped construction waste at sea, this is only a short-term solution, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia told Parliament on Monday.

Farrugia was asked about Infrastructure Malta's decision to suspend all roadworks. The agency has said there is no more space to dump construction waste, but the Environment and Resources Authority said there is still plenty of space in unused quarries.

Farrugia again insisted that there is still space for construction debris in several quarries, and the issue is about a lack of agreement on market prices.

He said he will ask for a study to determine whether current prices are in line with the market. Dumping fees had previously been set at €8 per tonne but have since doubled to around €15 per tonne. While a number of quarries are licensed to receive construction waste, only a handful of them are.

Farrugia said previous Nationalist administrations had dumped construction waste at sea, in designated areas. This, however, is a short-term solution, and the country must look towards longer-term solutions such as recycling and land reclamation.

These are solutions that the Opposition never looked into, he said.