Guidelines on Works involving Trees

The Trees and Woodlands Protection Regulations (S.L. 549.123) is the principal legal instrument that regulates which trees are protected and therefore whether a permit is required for works thereon.

ERA acknowledges that the permitting system in placFront view of the guidelinese for interventions on protected trees will gain considerably from promotion of best practice on such works. ERA has therefore developed the Guidelines on Works involving Trees, which include a list of conditions to be observed when carrying out interventions which can potentially be damaging to trees. These conditions seek to find a balance between works that are to be carried out and the health of the trees in question in order to ensure their long-term survival and their various ecological services.

The Guidelines are divided into various sections, dealing with permits, registration of specialists and different works which are potentially damaging to trees. They provide guidance which should be followed during works such as pruning and transplanting and construction works in the vicinity of trees.

This policy was approved in line with Article 51 of the Environment Protection Act (Cap. 549) in January 2019.

Further information may be obtained from https://era.org.mt/contact/.

Documents

Guidelines on Works Involving Trees – Approved Policy

Guidelines on Works Involving Tree – Summarised Version​

Linji Gwida Dwar Xogħlijiet Li Jinvolvu Siġar – Verżjoni Mqassra 

Draft Policy – Consultation Brief

Draft Policy – Public Consultation Submissions & Responses

2nd Draft Policy – Consultation Brief

2nd Draft Policy – Public Consultation Submissions & Responses

Petrol

Any petroleum derivative, with or without additives, having a Reid vapour pressure (RVP) of 27.6 kilopascals or more, which is intended for use as a fuel for motor vehicles with the exception of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

Terminal

Any facility which is used for the storage and loading of petrol onto road tankers, rail tankers, or vessels, including all storage installations on the site of the facility

Throughput

The largest total annual quantity of petrol loaded from a storage installation at a terminal or from a mobile container into a service station during the three preceding years

Mobile Container

Any tank transported by road, rail or waterways used for  the transfer of petrol from one terminal to another or from terminal to a service station

Approved Auditor

An  auditor which has been approved by the Competent Authorities and by the Malta Standards Authority, who holds a warrant to practice the profession of an engineer under the Engineering Profession Act or the equivalent professional qualification as provided under the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Act, who has suitable training, sufficient knowledge and experience and capability as approved by the competent Authorities to certify that  terminals,  service  stations  and  road  tankers  are compliant  with  the  standards set by the relevant technical Schedules of these regulations, and who is duly registered with the joint competent authorities

All service stations having a specific throughput as specified in S.L. 549.52, must comply with the requirements in Schedule VI of S.L. 549.52.

The operation of service stations handling petrol, are to be covered by an Environmental Permit issued by ERA. These service stations cannot operate unless they are duly permitted.  In order for ERA to permit service stations, these must be certified by an approved auditor, (REWS Competent Person in Petroleum Filling Stations / Secondary Storages of Petroleum) that they comply with the requirements for service stations above.

Applications may be submitted through the ERIS System which may be accessed from here.

Petrol Losses Sheet

In Service Testing Report

Download

Download

For further assistance,  you may contact the Environmental Permitting Unit on  https://era.org.mt/contact/ or on 2292 3500.

Responsible authority (plan proponent)Stage of assessmentLegislationERA's SEA responseDate received by ERADate of ERA's response
Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and PlanningSEA ScopingRegulation 6(4) of SEA Regulations (S.L. 549.61)Completed24/11/202001/12/2020
Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and PlanningSEA Environmental ReportRegulation 7 of SEA Regulations (S.L. 549.61)Completed14/05/202109/06/2021
Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and PlanningSEA Environmental ReportRegulation 7 of SEA Regulations (S.L. 549.61)Updated24/06/202128/06/2021

In the field of waste management, the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) incorporates all product related environmental costs, from the market price to the post-consumer phase. Under EPR legislation, producers of products are responsible for their recovery or disposal once they reach their end of life. In principle, such responsibility provides incentives to prevent waste at source, promotes innovative product designs as well as supports the attainment of recovery and recycling targets. Within the European Community, the concept of extended producer responsibility is considered a major instrument for the implementation of the Waste Hierarchy.

At EU level, three Directives introduce the EPR as a policy approach, these being:

 

Image describing life cycle of a product from production, to placement on the market, to consumption, to waste, to recovery and back to production.

 

In addition, Malta has opted to implement EPR on packaging and packaging waste. As from the 31st of December 2024, Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste will also be implementing the concept of EPR.

In Malta, Extended Producer Responsibility has been established for:

 

Clink on the below links for more information on the role of ERA as a Regulatory Competent Authority:

Waste classification and the European List of Waste

Waste classification is based on two factors, determining whether a waste is hazardous or not, through Annex III to the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC  which lists ‘Properties of Waste which render it Hazardous’ and identifying an appropriate classification code from the European List of Waste (LoW) (Commission Decision 2000/532/EC).

The LoW is the main document for the classification of waste, and it is revised periodically to adapt it to scientific progress and align with developments in chemical legislation. The most recent revision is the amendment through Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2025/934, which updates the LoW by modifying and adding new battery-related waste codes to take into account new battery chemistries and the rapidly evolving manufacturing and recycling processes. The new codes will take effect as of 9 December 2026 (in line with Corrigendum 2025/90657).

The LoW provides common terminology (EWC codes) at an EU-level to simplify waste management, and such codes are used, amongst others, for the transport of waste, installation permits or as a basis for waste statistics.

Flow chart describing terminology of List of Waste

The LoW is categorised into chapters, sub-chapters and entries, describing waste arising from different types of activity. If the waste in question has not arisen from the activity covered by a particular Chapter, the EWC code should not be used, even if the individual description seems to be the most appropriate. Waste streams classified according to the LoW would be assigned a six-digit number. The entries in the LoW can be categorised into:

Absolute hazardous entries

Wastes which are assigned to absolute hazardous entries and marked with an asterisk (*), are considered hazardous without any further assessment. Although no further assessment is necessary to classify the waste, it may still be necessary to assess which hazardous properties are displayed by the waste, if required for the fulfilment of correct labelling of hazardous waste.

Absolute non-hazardous entries

Wastes which are assigned to absolute non-hazardous entries are considered non-hazardous without any further assessment;

Mirror entries

Waste from the same source might, under the LoW, be allocated to a hazardous entry or to a non-hazardous entry, depending on the specific case and on the composition of the waste. Further assessment would be required to determine whether the waste is to be assigned the hazardous mirror entry or the non-hazardous mirror entry.

The following steps should be followed when choosing an EWC code from the LoW:

Step 1: Chapters related to waste source

Consider chapters 01 to 12 and 17 to 20 (excluding general entries ending with 99), which identify a waste by referring to its source or industrial sector of origin. If no appropriate waste code can be found, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Chapters related to waste type

Consider Chapters 13 to 15 (excluding general entries ending with 99), which are related to the nature of the waste itself. If none of the waste codes apply, move to Step 3.

Step 3: Chapter for waste not otherwise specified in the list

Consider Chapter 16 (excluding general entries ending with 99), which represents a varied set of waste streams that cannot be otherwise specifically related to a given process or sector. If the waste cannot be reasonably allocated to any of the entries in Chapter 16, move to Step 4.

Step 4:

A suitable 99 (waste not otherwise specified) must be found from the appropriate chapter identified in Step 1.

Flow chart showing how to identify an EWC code

Standard Terms of Reference for the classification of waste using the European List of Waste may be found here.

General Terms of Reference to determine the nature of waste may be found here .

Further information on the classification of waste and the European List of Waste may be found here.

Technical guidance on the classification of waste from the European Commission may be found here: 2018/C 124/01

Storage installations in all terminals storing petrol must be operated according to the technical provisions in Schedule IV of S.L. 549.52.

In addition, all terminals with a throughput of 10,000 tonnes of petrol or higher per year, must comply with Schedule V and VIII of S.L. 549.52.

The operators of terminals handling petrol to seek a permit from ERA.  Terminals will not be allowed to operate without this permit.  The granting of the permit requires the submission of certification by an approved auditor that the terminal is compliant with the requirements above.

Applications may be submitted through the ERIS System which may be accessed from here.

Petrol Losses – Terminals​

Download

For further assistance,  you may contact the Environmental Permitting Unit on  https://era.org.mt/contact/ or on 2292 3500.