B 1147
L.N. 147 of 2021
ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT
(CAP. 549)
Waste Management (Landfill) (Amendment) Regulations, 2021
IN EXERCISE of the powers conf erred by articles 54 and 55 of
the Environment Protection Act, the Minister for the Environmen t,
Climate Change and Planning, after consultation with the
Environment and Resources Authority, has made the following
regulations:-
Citation.
S.L. 549. 29.1. The title of these regulations is the Waste Management
(Landfill) (Amendment) Regulations, 2021 and these regulations
shall be read and construed as one with the Waste Management
(Landfill) Regulations, hereinaf ter referred to as "the princip al
regulations".
Amends 
regulation 1 of 
the principal regulations.2. Regulation 1 of the principal r egulations shall be amended
as follows:
(a) sub-regulation (2) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation:
"(2) With a view to supporting the European
Union’s transition to a circular economy and meeting the
requirements of Directive 2008/98/EC of the EuropeanParliament and of the Council
*, and in particular Articles 4
and 12 thereof, the aim of these regulations is to ensure aprogressive reduction of landfilling of waste, in particularof waste that is suitable for recycling or other recovery,
and, by way of stringent o perational and technical
requirements on the waste and landfills, to provide for
measures, procedures and guida nce to prevent or reduce as
far as possible negative effects on the environment, inparticular the pollution of s urface water, groundwater, soil
and air, and on the global environment, including the
greenhouse effect, as well as any resulting risk to human
health, from landfilling of waste, during the whole life-cycle of the landfill.";
(b) in sub-regulation (3) thereof, the words "Integrated
Pollution Prevention and Contro l Regulations", wherever they
* OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3.
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occur, shall be substituted by the words "Industrial Emissions
(Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations"; and
(c) sub-regulation (4) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation:
"(4) These regulations bring into effect the
provisions of Council Direct ive 1999/31/EC of 26 April
1999 on the landfill of waste as amended by CouncilDirective 2011/97/EU amendi ng Directive 1999/31/EC as
regards specific criteria for the storage of metallic mercuryconsidered as waste and Directive (EU) 2018/850 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018
amending Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste.".
Amends 
regulation 2 of 
the principal regulations.3. Regulation 2 of the principal r egulations shall be amended
as follows:
(a) immediately before the definition "biogradable
waste" there shall be added the following new definition:
" "applicant" means any person who applies for a
landfill operating permit under these regulations;";
(b) immediately after the defi nition "eluate" there shall
be added the following new definition:
" "inert waste" means waste that does not undergo
any significant physical , chemical or biological
transformations. Inert waste will not dissolve, burn or
otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or
adversely affect other matter with which it comes into
contact in a way likely to give rise to environmentalpollution or harm human health. The total leachability and
pollutant content of the waste and the ecotoxicity of the
leachate must be insignificant, and in particular not
endanger the quality of surface water and, or
groundwater;"; and
(c) immediately after the definition "underground
storage", the words "All other terms shall have the same
meaning as that assigned to the m in the Waste Regulations."
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shall be substitu ted by the words:
Amends 
regulation 3 of the principal 
regulations.4. Regulation 3 of the principal r egulations shall be amended
as follows:
(a) in paragraph (c) of sub-regulation (2) thereof, the
words "and its sub-soil;" shall be substituted by the words "an d
its sub-soil.";
(b) paragraph (d) of sub-regul ation (2) thereof shall be
deleted; and
(ċ)  immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof, there
shall be added the follo wing new sub-regulation:
"(3) The management of waste from land-based
extractive industries, that is t o say, the waste arising from
the prospecting, extraction, including the pre-production
development stage, treatment and storage of mineral
resources and from the working of quarries, shall be
excluded from the scope of these regulations where it fallswithin the scope of other European Union legislative
acts.".
Amends 
regulation 5 of the principal 
regulations.5. Regulation 5 of the principal r egulations shall be amended
as follows:
(a) the marginal note thereof shall be substituted by the
following new marginal note:
"Maximum quantities of municipal waste allowed
to landfill."; and
(b) immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof, there
shall be added the follo wing new sub-regulations:
"(3) By 2035 the amount  of municipal waste
landfilled is to be reduced t o 10% or less of the total
amount of municipal waste  generated (by weight).S.L. 549. 63."The words "waste", "hazardous waste", "non-
hazardous waste", "municipal waste", "waste
producer", "waste holder", "waste management",
"separate collection", "recovery", "preparing for re-
use", "recycling" and "dispos al" shall have the same
meaning as that assigned to them in regulation 4 of
the Waste Regulations.".
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(4) By 2030 the Minister may consider to
postpone the deadline for attaining the target referred to in
sub-regulation (3) by up to five years, provided thatArticles 5(6), 5(7), 5(8) and Annex IV of Council
Directive 1999/31/EC
* as amended, are adhered to.".
Adds new 
regulation to the principal 
regulations.6. Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations
there shall be added the following new regulation:
* OJ L 182 16.7.1999, p. 1
** OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1Rules on the 
calculation of 
the attainment 
of the targets.5A. (1) For the purpose of calculating
whether the targets laid down in regulation 5(3) and
(4) have been attained:
(a) the weight of the municipal waste
generated and directed to landfilling shall be
calculated in a given calendar year;
(b) the weight of waste resulting from
treatment operations prior to recycling orother recovery of municipal waste such as
sorting or mechanical b iological treatment,
which is subsequently landfilled shall be
included in the weight of municipal waste
reported as landfilled;
(c) the weight of municipal waste that
enters incineration disposal operations and
the weight of waste produced in thestabilization operations of the biodegradable
fraction of municipal waste in order to be
subsequently landfilled shall be reported aslandfilled;
(d) the weight of waste produced
during recycling or other recovery operations
of municipal waste which is subsequently
landfilled shall not be included in the weight
of municipal waste reported as landfilled.
(2) The competent authority shall establish an
effective system of quality control and traceability
of the municipal waste landf illed to ensure that the
conditions laid down in sub-regulation (1) are met.
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Amends 
regulation 6 of 
the principal regulations.7. Regulation 6 of the principal r egulations shall be amended
as follows:
(a) regulation 6 shall be re-numbered as sub-regulation
(1);
(b) sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation:(3) Where municipal waste is shipped to
another Member State or exported from the
European Union for the purposes of landfilling, in
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of
the European Parliament and of the Council**, it
shall be counted towards the amount of waste
landfilled in Malta, in accordance with sub-
regulation (1).".
"(1) The following wastes shall not be accepted
in a landfill:
- liquid waste;
S.L. 549. 63.- waste which, in the conditions of
landfill, is explosive, corrosive, oxidising,highly flammable or flammable as defined inSchedule 3 to the Waste Regulations;
S.L. 549. 63.- hospital and other clinical waste
arising from medical or veterinary
establishments, which are infectious as
defined by property HP9 of Schedule 3 to theWaste Regulations and waste chemical
substances arising from research and
development or teaching activities which arenot identified and, or are new and whose
effects on man and, or the environment are
not known (e.g. laborator y residues, etc.);
- whole used tyres, excluding tyres used
as engineering material and bicycle tyres and
tyres with an outside diameter above 1,400
mm;
- shredded used tyres excluding bicycle
tyres and tyres with an outside diameterabove 1,400 mm;
- any other type of waste which does not
fulfil the acceptance criteria determined in
accordance with Schedule 2;
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(b) immediately after sub-regulation (1) thereof, as re-
numbered, there shall be added the following new sub-
regulation:
Amends 
regulation 8 of 
the principal 
regulations.8. In sub-regulation (1) of regulation 8 of the principal
regulations, immediately after the words "hazards to human heal th or
the environment." there shall  be added the follo wing new paragr aph:S.L. 549. 63.- waste that has been separately
collected for preparing for re-use and
recycling pursuant to regulation 10 of the
Waste Regulations, with the exception of
waste resulting from subsequent treatmentoperations of the separa tely collected waste
for which landfilling delivers the bestenvironment outcome in accordance withregulation 4A of the Waste Regulations;
- any other type of waste which the
competent authority declares as notacceptable in a landfill."; and
S.L. 549. 63."(2) The competent authority shall
endeavour, through, inter alia , the establishment of
guidelines and, or a landfill operating permit, toensure that as of 2030, all waste suitable for
recycling or other recovery, in particular municipal
waste, shall not be accepted in a landfill with theexception of waste for which landfilling delivers
the best environmental outcome in accordance with
regulation 4A of the Waste Regulations.
S.L. 549. 63.Information on the measures taken
pursuant to this sub-regulation shall be included inthe waste management p lans referred to in
regulation 28 of the Waste Regulations or in otherstrategic documents covering the entire territory ofMalta.".
S.L. 549. 63."The competent authority shall ensure that
measures taken in accordance with this sub-
regulation do not compromise the achievement of
the objectives of the Wa ste Regulations, notably on
the waste hierarchy and on the increase of
preparing for re-use and recycling as set out in
regulation 4A of those regulations.".
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Amends 
regulation 10 of the principal 
regulations.9. In sub-regulation (1) of regulation 10 of the principal
regulations, the words "Waste Management Regulations" shall be
substituted by the words "Waste Regulations".
Amends 
regulation 11 of the principal 
regulations.10. In regulation 11 of the prin cipal regulations, the words
"Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations" shall  b e
substituted by the words "Industrial Emissions (Integrated Pollution
Prevention and Control) Regulations".
Amends 
regulation 12 of 
the principal 
regulations.11. In regulation 12 of the principal regulations, the words
"regulation 10(i)(d)" shall be s ubstituted by the words "regula tion
10(1)(d)".
Amends regulation 14 of 
the principal 
regulations.12. Regulation 14 of the principal regulations shall be
amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (3) thereof, the
words "Environment Protecti on (Control of Transboundary
Movement of Toxic and other S ubstances) Regulations" shall be
substituted by the words "Waste Management (Shipments of
Waste) Regulations"; and
(b) in sub-regulation (5) thereof, the words
"Environment Protection (Control of Transboundary Movementof Toxic and other Substances) Regulations" shall be substitute d
by the words "Waste Management (Shipments of Waste)
Regulations".
Amends 
regulation 15 of the principal 
regulations.13. In sub-regulation (3) of regulation 15 of the principal
regulations, the words "a competent agency" shall be substituted by
the words "a competent laboratory".
Adds a new 
regulation to the principal 
regulations.14. Immediately after regulat ion 17 of the principal
regulations, there shall be added the following new regulation:
Amends 
Schedule 1 to the principal 
regulations.15. Paragraph 3.5 in Schedule 1 to the principal regulations
shall be substituted by the  following new paragraph:"Instruments 
to promote a 
shift to a more circular 
economy.
S.L. 549. 63.17A.  In order to contribute to the objectives
laid down in these regulations, the Minister shall
m a k e  u s e  o f  e c o n o m i c  i nstruments and other
measures to provide incentives for the application
of the waste hierarchy under regulation 4A of the
Waste Regulations. Such instruments may include
those indicated in Annex IVa to Directive 2008/98/EC or other appropriate instruments and
measures.".
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"3.5 The method for the determination of the
permeability coefficient for landfills, in the field and for th e
whole extension of the site, shall be determined by the
Commission through the adoption of implementing acts in
accordance with article 15b of Directive 1999/31/EC.".
Amends 
Schedule 2 to the principal 
regulations.16. Paragraph 5 in Schedule 2 to the principal regulations shall
be substituted by the following new paragraph:
"5. Sampling of Waste
The Commission shall ad opt implementing acts in
accordance with article 15c of Directive 1999/31/EC, to develop
a standard for sampling of waste.
Provided that until such implementing acts are adopted,
national standards and procedures shall apply.".
Amends 
Schedule 3 to 
the principal 
regulations.17. Schedule 3 to the principal regulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) In paragraph 2 therein, the words "The operator
shall supply information on the methodology used to collect
meteorological data (in situ, national meteorological network,
etc.)." shall be deleted; 
(b) In paragraph 5 therein, the words "Every six
months(1)" shall be deleted.
Amends various 
provisions of 
the principal 
regulations.18. In the Maltese version of the principal regulations, the
words "skart inattiv", wherever they occur, shall be substitute d by the
words "skart inerti".
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