Waste and Recycling in Malta: Collection Days and Bag Rules

Households across Malta and Gozo follow the same national collection days, but the collection time depends on the locality. The simplest routine is to separate four streams at home: organic waste, mixed recyclables, glass and everything that belongs in mixed waste.

Waste separation is mandatory. Put out only the material scheduled for that day and check the current time for your locality before leaving anything outside.

Malta’s weekly household waste schedule

Day	Waste collected	What to use
Monday	Organic waste	White bag, preferably biodegradable
Tuesday	Mixed waste	Black bag
Wednesday	Organic waste	White bag, preferably biodegradable
Thursday	Mixed recyclables	Grey or green bag
Friday	Organic waste	White bag, preferably biodegradable
Saturday	Mixed waste	Black bag
Sunday	No collection in the national household schedule	Do not leave ordinary bags outside

Glass bottles and jars are collected on the first and third Friday of each month. Put them in a reusable container rather than a disposable bag, and follow your locality’s instructions for the collection time and return of the container.

The Friday glass collection does not replace the normal Friday organic collection: keep the two waste streams separate.

What time can bags go outside?

The national schedule sets the day; the official collection-time timetable sets the time for each locality. Waste may be taken out up to four hours before the listed collection time.

That means a neighbour in another town may follow the same bag day but a different time. Check the timetable again when you move home and watch your local council’s notices for temporary changes around public holidays, road closures or local events.

If a correctly presented bag is repeatedly missed, record the address, scheduled time, waste type and date before contacting the local council. Do not leave a missed bag outside indefinitely if it creates an obstruction or has been placed out on the wrong day.

Which bag does an item belong in?

Use this as a practical sorting guide for common household items. The full WasteServ separation guide covers a longer list.

Stream	Put these in	Keep these out
Organic — white bag	Food scraps and leftovers; raw or cooked meat and fish; bones and shells; fruit and vegetable peel; eggshells; tea bags and coffee; soiled napkins and newspaper; flowers and leaves	Packaging, plastic, liquids in containers and twigs
Mixed recyclables — grey or green bag	Clean paper and cardboard; milk and juice cartons; clean plastic bottles, tubs, containers and bags; food and drink cans; clean aluminium trays and foil; empty detergent and toiletry containers; empty spray cans; polystyrene	Food residue, dirty takeaway boxes, nappies, sanitary waste, glass bottles and jars, batteries or electronics
Mixed waste — black bag	Dirty food wrappers; wet wipes; nappies and sanitary items; pet litter and animal waste; cigarette ends and ashes; used sponges and cleaning cloths; broken ceramics or Pyrex; small broken mirrors; toothpaste tubes; twigs	Food waste that belongs in the white bag, clean recyclable packaging, glass bottles and jars, hazardous waste or electronics
Glass — reusable container	Glass bottles and jars that are not being returned through the deposit scheme	Ceramics, Pyrex, mirrors, metal lids and other non-container glass

Empty recyclable containers and rinse them when needed. Plastic caps can be replaced after rinsing. Remove metal lids from glass jars and place those lids with the mixed recyclables.

Two easy-to-miss distinctions are worth labelling at home:

Leaves and flowers can go in the organic bag; twigs go in mixed waste, while larger garden cuttings can go to a Civic Amenity Site.
A clean takeaway box can be recyclable; a dirty one belongs in mixed waste.

When an item is not listed, use WasteServ’s guide rather than guessing. One contaminated item can make the surrounding recyclable or organic material harder to process.

Deposit bottles and cans: use BCRS first

Some single-use beverage containers carry a €0.10 refundable deposit and should be returned through the Beverage Container Refund Scheme rather than placed with ordinary kerbside recycling.

The scheme covers registered single-use PET plastic bottles, metal cans and glass bottles between 0.1 and 3 litres for drinks such as water, soft drinks, beer, cider and certain other listed beverages. Wine, spirits, dairy drinks, juices and containers made from cartons, HDPE or pouches are outside the scheme.

Check the barcode on the BCRS website if you are unsure. To give the Reverse Vending Machine the best chance of accepting a container:

Empty it.
Keep its shape intact; do not crush it.
Leave the label and barcode readable.
Replace the cap where applicable.

The machine issues a voucher for the deposit. A supermarket-machine voucher is normally redeemable at that supermarket or its chain, while a voucher from a Public Recycling Hub can be used at participating beverage retailers across Malta and Gozo. BCRS states that vouchers remain valid for 12 months.

Bulky waste, furniture and large appliances

Do not place furniture, mattresses or large appliances beside ordinary household bags.

Local councils provide a free bulky-waste collection service for households, but it requires an appointment. Contact your own council, describe the items and wait for the confirmed collection instructions before putting them outside.

Alternatively, householders can take furniture, mattresses, white goods, wood, metal and other accepted materials to a WasteServ Civic Amenity Site. Sort the load before arriving. Entry is by vehicle, and WasteServ applies access and permit rules according to vehicle category.

Civic Amenity Sites are currently open Monday to Sunday, including public holidays, from 07:30 to 17:30, except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Check the official page immediately before travelling in case access rules or hours change.

If an unwanted item is still usable, consider a WasteServ Reuse Centre instead of treating it as waste. Reuse Centres accept selected items such as furniture, books, textiles, toys, mirrors and home accessories, but not every product category.

Electronics, batteries, paint and other hazardous waste

These items do not belong in an ordinary household bag:

Item	Appropriate route
Computers, phones, televisions, printers and other electronics	Civic Amenity Site; electronic retailers may also operate collection systems
Paint, solvents and chemicals, including empty containers	Civic Amenity Site; selected quantities are also accepted by the Roadshow Truck
Lubricating oil	Civic Amenity Site
Household batteries	Civic Amenity Site or WasteServ Roadshow Truck
Car batteries	Civic Amenity Site
Spent light bulbs and neon tubes	Civic Amenity Site or WasteServ Roadshow Truck
Cooking oil	Civic Amenity Site or WasteServ Roadshow Truck
Small electronic devices	Civic Amenity Site or WasteServ Roadshow Truck

Remove personal data from phones, computers, tablets, satellite-navigation units and smart televisions before handing them over.

WasteServ’s Roadshow Trucks visit localities and markets on a changing schedule. They separate accepted materials into different compartments and are useful for smaller items that should not wait for a Civic Amenity Site trip. Check the weekly timetable for the exact stop, date and time rather than assuming the truck returns on the same day every month.

Medicines and sharps

Take old, unused or expired medicines to an authorised pharmacy. Pharmacies accept items including tablets and capsules, bottled medicines, inhalers and medicinal cream tubes.

Remove outer packaging and information leaflets first. Plastic caps, cups, spoons and removable plastic inhaler casings go with mixed recyclables. WasteServ says tablet blister packs and cosmetic items belong in mixed waste, while empty glass medicine bottles go with glass.

Do not take syringes, EpiPens or other biohazardous sharps to a pharmacy. Place them in a proper sharps container and take them to a Civic Amenity Site. WasteServ’s expired-medicines page provides the current pharmacy information by locality.

Fines and inspections

ERA, LESA and the Police may carry out inspections, and bags can be opened during monitoring. The official enforcement table for households states:

Household offence for incorrect separation	Consequence
First offence	Warning
Second offence	€25
Third offence	€50

Inspections also check whether waste is in the correct bag and has been placed out on the correct day. The safest routine is therefore simple: separate it, confirm the day, confirm your locality’s time, and use a special-waste service when the item does not belong in kerbside collection.

If someone repeatedly leaves another household’s waste at your address, the official guidance allows a complaint through ERA’s ERIS portal using e-ID, or referral to the local council and region. For waste placed outside a home as a public nuisance, the guidance directs residents to the Police.

See Malta e-ID and Online Government Services if you need to set up online access, and read Local Councils in Malta for the services councils normally handle.

For the wider household setup, start with Living in Malta: Complete Everyday Life Guide. Browse all Everyday Life guides.