Waste separation is compulsory in Malta and Gozo, and the collection day is now the same everywhere on the islands rather than varying by locality. Bags go out on the morning of collection, shortly before the lorry comes, and rounds start from about seven.
Collected today
Organic waste
Put the white bag out in the morning. Rounds start from about 7am.
- MonOrganic wastewhite bag
- TueMixed wasteblack bag
- WedOrganic wastewhite bag
- ThuRecyclablesgrey or green bag
- FriOrganic wastewhite bag
- SatMixed wasteblack bag
- SunNo collection
The day is the same across Malta and Gozo. The time is not, so check your own locality. A bag cannot go out more than four hours before the round, which rules out the night before.
Glass goes out next on Friday 4 September, and on the first and third Friday of every month.
Getting it right
What goes where
- Organic, white bag
- Food scraps, peelings, bones, coffee grounds, tea bags and garden trimmings. Collected three mornings a week, which is more often than anything else because it is the bag that smells.
- Mixed, black bag
- Whatever is left once the other three are taken out. Nappies, cling film, polystyrene, broken crockery.
- Recyclables, grey or green bag
- Paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and cartons, all together in the one bag. Rinse them first.
- Glass
- Bottles and jars only, on the first and third Friday of the month. Not window glass, not mirrors, not light bulbs.
- Bulky items
- Furniture and appliances are not a bag. Book a collection with your local council or take them to a civic amenity site.
- Fines
- Separation is enforced. A first offence is a warning, then twenty-five euro for a household and seventy-five for a business, rising from there.
Bottles and cans in the deposit scheme are worth ten cents each. Return them to a machine rather than putting them in the recycling bag: see BCRS, the deposit on bottles and cans.
A bag cannot go out more than four hours before the round, so the night before is an offence and people are fined for it. Rounds start from about seven in the morning, and the exact time depends on your locality, so put the bag out shortly before that. A bag left out at eight has usually been missed.