Updated: Government adopts Opposition proposal on underground waste bins – PN

The government has adopted a proposal by the Nationalist Party for the country to introduce underground waste bins, the party said in a statement on Monday, noting that this is “further proof that the PN is putting forward well-studied, research-based proposals.”

The PN said that in August 2025, it had presented the consultation document “Innaddfu lil Malta” – a concrete and detailed vision on how to improve the quality of life of Maltese and Gozitan citizens through better waste collection, a cleaner environment, and modern urban infrastructure. This document was the result of research, consultation, and genuine engagement with the community.

“One of the central proposals in that document was the introduction of underground waste bins in residential and tourist areas. At the time, the Government did not take up this proposal and even claimed that it would be difficult to implement,” the PN said.

Today, however, the Government has announced the installation of such underground waste containers in ten locations across Malta, the party noted.

The PN welcomed this decision, “whereby the Labour Government has now adopted an Opposition proposal – one from which the Maltese people stand to benefit.”

The party said that underground bins are just one of the proposals outlined in the “Innaddfu lil Malta” document, which also includes increasing the frequency of waste collection through trucks with separated compartments; the introduction of electric waste fleets; the adoption of smart technology to improve route efficiency; more consistent enforcement of existing laws – including the obligation for contractors to clean up after construction works; and the extension of steward systems, modelled on Valletta, to more localities.

The document also recognises that beaches, marinas, and rural areas require specialised measures.

“The Labour Government’s decision to adopt this proposal clearly shows that the PN is putting forward quality proposals and, even from Opposition, is working to deliver well-researched solutions in the national interest,” the party said.

“Through these measures, the PN is already making an impact from the Opposition benches – let alone what it could achieve in government,” the party concluded.

The statement was signed by PN MP and Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Public Cleanliness Eve Borg Bonello.

PL says idea was in its general election manifesto in 2022

“On Monday morning, the Nationalist Party woke up with the intention of attempting to mislead the public in a bid to score a few quick political points,” the Labour Party said in a statement reacting to what the PN said.

“It did so by claiming that the Government copied a measure which it supposedly announced in August 2025,” the PL said of the PN, as it then noted that measure 350 of the Labour Government’s “Malta Flimkien” manifesto confirms the exact opposite.

Back in 2022, the Labour Party had already pledged to “work on a pilot project for underground refuse collection in order to introduce innovative methods of waste collection,” the party said.

If anything, the facts confirm that the Nationalist Party chose to include Labour Party measures within its own document, it said. “This is yet another confirmation of the strength of this manifesto, now that the Nationalist Party has made some of its measures its own.”

This measure has now entered the implementation phase, thereby continuing to strengthen the implementation rate of this manifesto, which received a strong mandate from the Maltese and Gozitan people in 2022 and has reached 82%, as announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela, the party said.

“The lack of political competence in Pietà is forcing the Nationalist Party into such manoeuvres, which increasingly expose that it is not competent enough to lead the country,” the PL said.

“Worse still, this attitude reveals a mindset within the PN that underestimates the Maltese and Gozitan people, as though they can be made to believe anything. The people know how to recognise the facts. And they also know who makes promises and who delivers,” it added.

RSS Feed Source: Independent Malta Updated: Government adopts Opposition proposal on underground waste bins – PN