Friends of the Earth Malta and Moviment Graffitti have submitted a joint recommendation on the construction of a Waste to Energy (WtE) Plant at Magħtab as part of government’s consultation process. Overall, the project to develop a Waste to Energy plant in Malta must not be seen as a perfect solution that would overlook the importance of drastic waste reduction needed. Additionally, further research in terms of feedstock, cooling system, incinerating capacity and environmental impact and pollution must be put forward.

The document proposes a raft of recommendations linked to waste prevention, a more ambitious focus on the circular economy, improving the recycling process, measures to put in place when designing and constructing the facility and other mitigation measures.

Martin Galea De Giovanni, chairperson of Friends of the Earth Malta, said that “environmental organisations have been supporting educational campaigns and issuing recommendations on the waste situation in Malta for the past decades, alerting and calling out the government on an increasingly deteriorating situation. We have particularly been insisting on the importance of waste reduction as the first and foremost measure to manage Malta’s waste.”

The generation of waste has increased by 18% in 3 years, rising from circa 245,000 tonnes in 2014 to 290,000 tonnes in 2017. Seeing as Malta has been struggling for a long time to manage its generated waste, it is fundamental to transition to a real circular economy.

Christine Cassar from Moviment Graffitti concluded that “the implementation of a Waste to Energy plant is admittedly a better solution than landfilling and can be part of the treatment of waste in Malta but must not be seen as an eco-friendly solution.”

Although incineration is a huge step forward when compared to landfilling, especially on a small island like Malta, it should not be seen as the ultimate green solution. Even though incineration is presented in the EU plan as a possible solution, it remains a polluting process that would lead to considerable emission of greenhouse gases.

We hope that this plant will not accommodate any laissez-faire attitudes and should be implemented with awareness-raising on the reduction of waste to reinforce moves towards a zero-waste situation. Ultimately, the resources on this planet are limited. Paper, plastics, metals and alloys cannot continue being produced (or recycled) indefinitely. Reducing the use of materials and resources is crucial to ensure the sustainable use of our planet’s limited resources.

A copy of the recommendations document can be downloaded from: https://bit.ly/3kleVmq

Photo: Kevin Mallan

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L-NGOs iressqu għadd ta’ rakkomandazzjonijiet dwar l-Impjant li Jikkonverti l-Iskart f’Enerġija

Friends of the Earth Malta u Moviment Graffitti ppreżentaw rakkomandazzjoni konġunta dwar il-bini ta’ Impjant li Jikkonverti l-Iskart f’Enerġija (WtE, Waste to Energy) fil-Magħtab bħala parti mill-proċess ta’ konsultazzjoni tal-gvern. Inġenerali, il-proġett biex jiġi żviluppat impjant Waste to Energy f’Malta ma jridx jiġi meqjus bħala s-soluzzjoni perfetta li tkun qed tinjora l-importanza tat-tnaqqis drastiku fl-iskart meħtieġ. Barra minn hekk, jeħtieġ li tiġi ppreżentata aktar riċerka fir-rigward ta’ materja prima, sistema ta’ tkessiħ, kapaċità tal-inċinerazzjoni u l-impatt u t-tniġġis ambjentali.

Id-dokument jipproponi għadd ta’ rakkomandazzjonijiet marbuta mal-prevenzjoni tal-iskart, enfasi aktar ambizzjuża fuq l-ekonomija ċirkolari, it-titjib fil-proċess tar-riċiklaġġ, miżuri li għandhom jidħlu fis-seħħ meta tiġi ddisinjata u mibnija l-faċilità u miżuri oħra ta’ mitigazzjoni.

Martin Galea De Giovanni, president ta’ Friends of the Earth Malta, qal li “l-għaqdiet ambjentali ilhom jappoġġjaw kampanji edukattivi u joħorġu rakkomandazzjonijiet dwar is-sitwazzjoni tal-iskart f’Malta għal dawn l-aħħar deċennji, u jwissu u jappellaw lill-gvern dwar sitwazzjoni li aktar ma jmur dejjem tmur għall-agħar. Aħna konna qed ninsistu b’mod partikolari dwar l-importanza tat-tnaqqis fl-iskart bħala l-ewwel miżura u l-aktar waħda importanti biex nimmaniġġjaw l-iskart f’Malta.”

Il-ġenerazzjoni tal-iskart żdiedet bi 18% fi 3 snin, b’żieda ta’ minn madwar 245,000 tunnellata fl-2014 għal 290,000 tunnellata fl-2017. Peress li Malta ilha għal żmien twil issibha diffiċli biex timmaniġġja l-iskart li jiġi ġġenerat, huwa fundamentali li ssir tranżizzjoni għal ekonomija ċirkolari ta’ vera.

Christine Cassar mill-Moviment Graffitti kkonkludiet li “l-implimentazzjoni ta’ impjant Waste to Energy hija ċertament soluzzjoni aħjar mir-rimi tal-iskart f’landfill u tista’ tkun parti mit-trattament tal-iskart f’Malta, iżda m’għandhiex tiġi meqjusa bħala soluzzjoni ekoloġika.”

Għalkemm l-inċinerazzjoni hija pass kbir ’il quddiem meta mqabbla mar-rimi tal-iskart f’landfill, speċjalment fi gżira żgħira bħal Malta, m’għandhiex tiġi meqjusa bħala l-unika jew l-aqwa soluzzjoni ekoloġika. Għalkemm l-inċinerazzjoni hija ppreżentata fil-pjan tal-UE bħala soluzzjoni possibbli, xorta tibqa’ proċess li jniġġes u li jwassal għal emissjoni konsiderevoli ta’ gassijiet serra.

Nittamaw li dan l-impjant mhux se jkun qed jakkomoda attitudnijiet laissez-faire u għandu jiġi implimentat flimkien ma’ inizjattivi li joħolqu għarfien u jqajmu kuxjenza dwar it-tnaqqis tal-iskart biex jiġu msaħħa azzjonijiet li jwasslu għal sitwazzjoni ta’ ebda skart. Finalment, ir-riżorsi fuq din il-pjaneta huma limitati. Il-karta, plastiks, metalli u ligi ma jistgħux jibqgħu jiġu prodotti (jew irriċiklati) indefinittivament. Huwa kruċjali li nnaqqsu l-użu ta’ materjali u riżorsi sabiex niżguraw l-użu sostenibbli tar-riżorsi limitati tal-pjaneta tagħna.

Kopja tad-dokument bir-rakkomandazzjonijiet tista’ tiġi mniżżla minn: https://bit.ly/3kleVmq

Ritratt: Kevin Mallan