Evaluating the successes and limitations of organic waste separation in Gozo

Abstract

The issue of waste generation around the world has become an uncontrollable environmental problem. Despite waste management is continuously improving, issues such as high population density, limited landfill space and public’s perception towards waste separation make management more difficult especially in small islands like Malta. One of the biggest issues the Maltese Islands have faced along the years was that waste separation was not obligatory. This has led to limited space for the disposal of waste and has resulted in over-reliance on landfilling. Therefore, the introduction of the new separate collection of organic waste will help Malta address its challenges in the sector, both environmentally and economically. This is yet a stepping stone in improving waste management in the Maltese Islands and reaching upcoming EU targets. This study evaluates the successes and barriers of the separate collection of organic waste in Gozo. All of this was undertaken via door-to-door distribution of questionnaires to evaluate such issues. Data were analysed using SPSS and the association between each question and the gender and age group was identified. The main findings show that the majority of the participants do separate organic waste and the scheme was described by many as easy to use, has a good frequency of collection and information provided was clear which shows that the scheme is being successful. On the other hand, odours, busy schedule and missed collection were identified as some of the barriers to separation. Thus, this study highlights that if the identified barriers are taken into consideration as well as the suggested improvements, the current separation rate will continue to increase.