Maltese the least enthusiastic about taxing waste management

Malta is the least likely EU member state to support the taxation of waste management, to convince people to separate more waste for recycling and composting.

Only 23% said they supported such measures to encourage more waste separation, but its neighbour Italy at 56% was the EU member state that supported it the most.

Almost 60% of EU citizens do not think their household produces too much waste, according to a Eurobarometer survey.

This is in stark contrast to statistics that show Europeans throw away on average more than half a tonne of rubbish every year.

In 7 of the 27 EU Member States, more than half of respondents thought that taxes for waste management would convince them to separate (more) waste for recycling and composting (from 53% in Greece to 57% in Italy). The proportion of respondents who gave this answer, however, decreased to 23% in Malta and Germany.

Not surprisingly, in countries with relatively more advanced waste management systems and with higher proportions of respondents who already separated their waste, respondents were less likely to think that the suggested proposals would convince them to separate even more waste. These countries – such as Germany, Austria and Sweden – were consistently at the lower end of the scales.

The survey also reveals a lack of awareness of the amount of food waste generated. Most citizens agreed that better waste collection services were needed and 8 in 10 said environmental aspects of a product, such as whether it was reusable or recyclable, were important factors in purchasing decisions.

Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said reducing food waste, for example, could save EU households around €500 a year."

One of the main findings is an overall lack of awareness about just how much waste individual households generate. In 21 of the 27 EU countries, most citizens said their households did not produce too much waste.

The number of citizens holding this opinion was highest in Latvia (73%), Bulgaria (74%) and Romania (75%). Overall, only 41% of Europeans surveyed thought the opposite.

But only 36% of Maltese respondents felt this was true of their case. According to the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, citizens generate 513 kg of municipal waste each a year.

Europeans surveyed also made low estimates about the amount of food they throw away. About a tenth said they did not waste any of the food they purchased, while around 7 in 10 estimated that 15% or less of the food that they bought went to waste. According to a UK study by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), 25% of food bought by households is thrown away, of which 60% is avoidable.

90% of Maltese respondents said they they separated waste for recycling or composting.

More than 60% of citizens said better estimates of portion sizes to avoid cooking too much and better information on food product labels – such as how to interpret 'best before' dates and more information on storage and preparation – would help them waste less food. Citizens also favoured smaller portion sizes in shops and better planning before shopping.

In almost all EU countries a majority of citizens (70%) agreed that better waste collection services were needed to improve waste management in their community.

Some 63% of those surveyed supported the idea of making producers pay for the collection and recycling of waste as a way to achieve this.

However, only 38% favoured making households pay for the waste they produced. Support for this approach varied across the Members States, gaining most favour among Italians (65%) and finding least support among the Maltese (14%).

Nonetheless, 75% of EU citizens would prefer to pay an amount related to the quantity of waste generated by their household rather than pay through their taxes. Similarly, roughly 60% of those surveyed would prefer to include the cost of waste management in product prices rather than via taxes. Lithuania was the most notable exception with just over one third (34%) supporting the idea of including waste costs in product prices, compared to 43% preferring to pay through taxes.

An overwhelming majority (86%) of EU citizens said they would buy products made of recycled materials. Willingness to buy such products ranged from 51% in Lithuania to 96% in Sweden and Denmark. Overall, almost 7 in 10 EU citizens said they were willing to buy certain products second-hand, such as furniture, electronic equipment or textiles.

The proportion of those willing to buy second-hand products ranged from 40% in Slovakia to more than 80% in Denmark, Finland and Sweden.