Quarries restrict c&d waste in tariff standoff

Operators of several quarries licensed to accept construction and demolition waste have informally coordinated restrictions on incoming material while pressing the government for a disposal tariff increase of between 67% and 83%. The current benchmark stands at €12 per tonne; quarry owners are seeking €20–€22. The dispute remains unresolved.

A near-identical standoff unfolded in 2019–2020, when friction over disposal capacity and pricing brought the sector to the brink of disruption before government intervention established the figure that remains in place today. Industry sources told The Shift that the current dispute was deliberately kept out of public view during the recent electoral campaign. With quarry access restricted, construction and demolition waste is being redirected to the Malta Freeport, where land reclamation works are under way.

ERA confirmed that material arriving there falls within existing permit conditions. "Operations involving the disposal of material at the Freeport have always been carried out in accordance with existing permits and their respective conditions and form part of established, authorised operations," ERA said. Anonymous industry sources alleged that some of the waste reaching the Freeport and Marsa was being loaded onto barges and dumped at sea.

Photographs showing construction material being transferred onto a barge were provided to The Shift in support of the claim. ERA denied it outright. ERA has required environmental assessment and permits for sea disposal of clean geological material since 1997 and in recent years Malta has surpassed its 70% recovery target by recycling well over half of the construction and demolition waste generated locally.

ERA's response did not cover the quarry tariff dispute. The specific quarries restricting access, the government body responsible for setting disposal tariffs and the ministers involved in the dispute have not been publicly named.