If you live in a flat in Malta, sorting your rubbish is a legal obligation, not a suggestion. Since 14 April 2023, every household has had to separate its waste into three bags, and enforcement officers check them. Here is how the system works, so you get it right from your first week.
Three bags, one rule each
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) published the mandatory waste separation rules in 2023 and sets out the three bags specified by law:
- White bag: organic waste, meaning food scraps and other kitchen waste.
- Grey or green bag: recyclable waste such as plastic, paper and other recyclable materials.
- Black bag: strictly for the other waste that fits neither of the first two.
Glass goes in none of them. ERA states that glass must be separated and taken out on its own for door-to-door collection. In a notice published in October 2023, ERA also announced that transparent black bags would become mandatory from July 2024, so officers check the content without opening the bag.
The collection days
Waste collection from homes is run by the regional councils on behalf of local councils. The national schedule they introduced in January 2023, as described by ERA:
- Organic waste, white bag: Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
- Other waste, black bag: Tuesday and Saturday.
- Recyclables, grey or green bag: every Thursday.
- Glass: the first and third Friday of each month.
Bags go out at the time set for your locality, and times differ from one locality to the next, so ask your landlord or a neighbour when bags go out where you live, and check with your local council if a public holiday falls on a collection day. Our page on public holidays in Malta lists the dates.
What a mistake costs
ERA publishes the scale of fines for waste found in the wrong bag. For households:
- First offence: an official warning.
- Second offence: 25 euros.
- Third offence: 50 euros.
Taking bags out on the wrong day is a separate offence, with fines of 150 euros according to the same ERA notice. In a shared flat, the bag outside your door belongs to the whole household, so agree on the rules with your flatmates in the first week.
A system for a shared flat
- Keep three containers in the kitchen, one per bag colour, with a fourth box for glass.
- Stick the collection days on the fridge.
- Agree who takes the bags out each day, on a weekly rota.
- Rinse yoghurt pots, cans and bottles before they go in the recycling bag.
- Buy the right bags at the supermarket during your first shop. Our guide to grocery shopping in Malta covers where students buy their basics.
Bottles and cans: get your 10 cents back
Malta runs a Beverage Container Refund Scheme (BCRS), launched on 14 November 2022. It adds 10 cents to the price of many single-use drink containers. You get the 10 cents back by returning the empty container, in good condition with its barcode readable, to a reverse vending machine. The machines stand in village cores and at major retailers.
For a student who buys bottled water every week, the deposit adds up. Keep a bag for empty bottles and cans next to the bin, and drop them off when you shop. If you prefer to drink less from bottles, our article on tap water in Malta explains what comes out of the tap and why it tastes the way it does.
Other ways to get rid of waste
ERA lists further options beside door-to-door collection:
- Bring-in sites and I-bins in every locality, for recyclable waste.
- Civic amenity sites run by Wasteserv, for items that do not fit in a household bag.
- A free bulky waste collection service offered by local councils, for furniture and large items.
Bulky collection is worth knowing at the end of a long stay, when a broken chair or an old fan has to go. Ask your landlord before you throw away anything that came with the flat: it is on the inventory.
Living with a host family
If you stay in a host family, the household already has its routine. Ask on day one where each type of waste goes and follow it. The rule applies to every home on the island, so the family carries the risk of a fine if your rubbish ends up in the wrong bag.
The short version
White for food, grey or green for recycling, black for the rest, glass on its own. Monday, Wednesday and Friday for organic waste, Tuesday and Saturday for black bags, Thursday for recycling, first and third Friday for glass. Bottles and cans go back to a machine for 10 cents each. Learn it in your first week and the system costs you nothing. For the other habits that keep you on good terms with neighbours, read our guide to local rules for language students in Malta.
