Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1192401
JAMES DEBONO THE commitment for a land reclamation project is being enshrined in a draft national strategy to address Malta's con- struction waste problem, even if this also includes a number of stringent commitments to reduce and recycle this waste. But the policy itself states that while the Environment and Resources Authority will "develop location selection criteria for potential areas for land reclamation", this has to be followed by an evaluation of "the socio-economic, technical and environmental impacts as- sociated with the feasibility and viability of land reclamation". The ERA and the environ- ment ministry prepared the na- tional strategy for the manage- ment of waste originating from construction, demolition and excavation operations which has now been issued for public consultation. Significantly, the document makes reference to "legislative or non-legislative measures to implement the polluter-pays principle (PPP)" whereby de- velopers, as the waste produc- ers, would bear the costs of waste management, including for the necessary infrastructure and its operation. But the document also sug- gests that one of the solutions being considered is extending the current spoil ground off Xghajra, where construction waste is already dumped at sea. This is made conditional on a study to determine whether "there is a need to extend the current location for disposal at sea from a point (with buffer) to a quadrant". By 2020 ERA will be carry- ing out a study on the physical, chemical and biological char- acteristics of the designated offshore spoil ground and its surrounding area. This study shall be undertak- en in order to improve knowl- edge on the conditions of the site and carry out the necessary updates in policy related to dumping of waste at sea. No studies have, so far, been conducted on the chemical and physical impact of Malta's un- derwater Maghtab – the place where massive amounts of con- struction waste are dumped on the seabed in an identified area off Xghajra. This is because no resources and funds were allo- cated to carry out studies con- templated in the Water Catch- ment Management Plan issued in 2011 for the period between 2010 and 2015. The plan in- cluded a clear commitment to study these impacts. A staggering 1.9 million tonnes of construction waste was dumped in an offshore "spoil ground" located north- east of Valletta harbour be- tween 2004 and 2010. Since no regulatory framework existed before 2002, the authorities have no idea about how much waste was dumped prior to that date. "Further to the findings of this study, a cost benefit anal- ysis shall be carried out to quantify environmental dam- age with the aim of determin- ing the true cost of dumping at sea", the ERA document now states. The Planning Authority will also carry out an exercise to identify quarries which have been declared "partly exhaust- ed, exhausted or inactive", with the aim to restore such areas to their former state through backfilling operations. The draft strategy also in- cludes a number of commit- ments. By 2021, a minimum of 40% of excavated material cre- ated by development projects shall be "re-used or recycled". This target will be enforced through the compliance certifi- cate system, whereby no such certificate shall be issued unless proof on the use of such mate- rials is provided. Also by 2021, a minimum of 15% of construction material used in projects shall be made up of re-used material or ma- terials recycled locally with a possibility of further re-use or recycling at the building's end of life. 25% of the granular material used for construction shall be made up of aggregates recycled locally in order to decrease the dependency on virgin aggre- gates. In order to encourage the set- ting up of privately owned stor- age depots where construction waste can be temporarily stored for eventual re-use, recycling or recovery, the government will introduce a scheme, through which operators of such depots may benefit from a percentage refund of the total amount in- vested in the establishment of such activities. 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2019 NEWS Construction waste: land reclamation is option Other options include polluter- pays principle, mandatory recycling targets, and extending spoil ground off Grand Harbour for dumping at sea By 2021, a minimum of 15% of construction material used in projects shall be made up of re- used material or materials recycled locally with a possibility of further re-use or recycling at the building's end of life