During 2024 municipal waste generation increased by 6.1 per cent over the previous year to a total of 353,525 tonnes, the NSO said Tuesday.
Municipal waste generation
Generation of municipal waste during 2024 amounted to 353,525 tonnes, going up by 20,287 tonnes, or 6.1 per cent over 2023. The highest increases by waste type, in absolute terms, were recorded in bio-waste from gardens and parks (5,910 tonnes), bio-waste from kitchens and canteens (5,826 tonnes) and other waste (4,082 tonnes). On the other hand, decreases were registered for mixed municipal waste (2,642 tonnes), metals (1,293 tonnes), and glass (123 tonnes).
Waste generation data by waste type presents information about the state of the waste at the point of collection. The proportion of source segregated waste collection can be determined from this data (see methodological note 4). The available data shows that the collection of source segregated waste fractions in 2024 amounted to 36.3 per cent of the municipal waste generation, up from the 34.8 per cent that was registered a year before.
Waste generation data by waste collection type shows that in 2024 the main increases were registered in the 'Other' category (15,076 tonnes), followed by street cleaning (3,432 tonnes) and the organic waste collection (2,444 tonnes). These increases were offset by reductions recorded in the categories for the black bag from businesses and institutions (2,287 tonnes), civic amenity sites (384 tonnes), and the black bag from the door-to-door collection by local councils (356 tonnes).
Indicators for the municipal waste generation per capita based on the mid-year resident population show that each person generated 621 kilograms of waste in 2024, up by 3.1 per cent over the previous year. Moreover, when factoring in the net tourist daily population in addition to the mid-year resident population, the per capita municipal waste generation for 2024 amounted to 574 kilograms, increasing by 2.1 per cent over 2023.
The total amount of treated municipal waste in 2024 increased by 9,635 tonnes, or 3.1 per cent, over that recorded in 2023, amounting to 322,119 tonnes. In 2024, 79.2 per cent of treated municipal waste was landfilled, up from the share of 78.6 per cent recorded a year before. In absolute terms, the landfilling of municipal waste increased by 9,510 tonnes (3.9 per cent), mainly on account of higher amounts of mixed municipal waste (16,381 tonnes), wood (8,764 tonnes) and garden and park bio-waste (6,514 tonnes). These were mainly offset by decreases in the rejects from the mechanical treatment of waste (24,371 tonnes) and bulky waste (764 tonnes).
Municipal waste that was recycled in 2024 increased by 1,723 tonnes, or 3.1 per cent, to a total of 58,156 tonnes. The most recycled material in 2024 was paper and cardboard with a share of 60.0 per cent from the total recycled municipal waste. Increases in recycling were registered for kitchen and canteen bio-waste (25.0 per cent), paper and cardboard (24.5 per cent) and plastic (11.5 per cent). On the other hand, decreases were recorded for clothes and textiles (46.6 per cent), glass (36.0 per cent), metals (31.4 per cent), and waste electrical and electronic equipment (1.4 per cent).
In 2024, municipal waste that underwent treatment by energy recovery decreased by 17.0 per cent, reaching 7,530 tonnes. Furthermore, preparing for re-use accounted for 1,282 tonnes, decreasing by 1.6 per cent over 2023 (Table 4).