A public consultation regarding a new system to regulate commercial waste will be issued in the coming months, Environment Minister Jose Herrera said today.

Environment Minister Jose Herrera and Parliamentary Secretary for animal rights Clint Camilleri were addressing a conference on the 2019 budget measures.

Herrera said that waste management, climate change, air quality, the value and protection of Malta's natural capital and sustainable development are "without a doubt the most crucial environmental elements that we are and need to continue investing more resources in," Herrera said.

He said that in 2019, Wasteserv continued their work on the waste to energy project, and implemented the waste collection reform through which over 25,000 tonnes of organic waste was collected.

The way forward in terms of waste collection, he said, is to look at new and different waste streams and by improving the efficiency in the processing of recyclable waste.

Work has also begun to address commercial waste, he said, where an action plan to regulate this waste was created. In the coming months, he said, public consultation regarding a new system to regulate commercial waste will be issued.

Turning to making Malta green, he mentioned a number of projects conducted by Ambjent Malta, and how the process has started to plant 40,000 trees and bushes on a number of areas in the coming months.

He said that over the past year, the government has continued to strengthen the ERA, by strengthening its enforcement department. He also spoke about how the ERA was crucial for the fuel station reform.

Turning to air quality, the minister said that the government is working for more environmentally friendly vehicles, where a commission was setup to that a holistic strategy identifying the date by which vehicles using internal combustion engines stop being imported.

The Parliamentary Secretary said that farmers and fishermen are an integral cornerstone when it comes to the protection of the environment.

He said that a number of agricultural policies were implemented over the year, as well as campaigns to promote local products, like local wines.

He also mentioned a scheme to help restore wooden fishing boats that are over 20-years-old, among others.

Turning to the slaughterhouse, Camilleri mentioned that work continued in the modernisation of its infrastructure.