Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1217481
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 MARCH 2020 NEWS ANALYSIS major supermarkets. Yet achieving high rates of re- cycling is not impossible. The Flanders region of Belgium re- cycles around 75% of its munic- ipal waste, while Austria recycles 70%, and Germany 66%. As Cacopardo noted, we can only help our farmers keep their agricultural land if we reduce – and eventually eliminate – waste going to landfills. We should re- member that the current Waste Management Strategy for the Maltese Islands has targeted the attainment of a zero-waste objec- tive by 2050. The government concurs that a change in mentality is required, one based on the circular econ- omy and where importers and commercial outlets also under- stand they have a role to play. Yet it remains to be seen whether a government which this govern- ment will have the will to use the stick and not just the carrot. And in the meantime, decisions have to be taken to spare Malta from a waste emergency. The long road to incineration Through the past decades there was always the nagging feeling that incineration had always lurked in the corner of waste management plans, with govern- ments waiting for the politically opportune moment to introduce it. Yet at current rates of waste generation, in the absence of waste minimisation, even incin- eration would not suffice to de- fuse the waste bomb. In 2000, a first draft of the waste management plan suggested that incineration should have been in place by 2010. And while a decision on incin- eration was postponed, an ener- getic push for waste separation by former parliamentary secre- tary Stanley Zammit in the 1990s was not followed up in subse- quent years. While EU membership did away with the uncontrolled dis- posal of waste at Magħtab, this was replaced by an engineered landfilled located in the vicinity of the former dump. Incineration, later redefined as a "waste to energy" plant, was al- so recommended by a committee appointed by former resources minister George Pullicino before 2008. In 2009, the waste management plan proposed an incineration plant in Marsaxlokk close to the power station. But amid oppo- sition from the Labour-led local council, the government post- poned the decision and indicated that a site had still to be chosen. Although incineration was on the agenda of the previous gov- ernment for years, studies had not been finalised by the 2013 general election, to the extent that a tender on technical assis- tance for a waste-to-energy facil- ity was shelved on the eve of the election. In order to buy time, the new- ly-elected Labour government under former environment min- ister Leo Brincat opted for a feasi- bility study on exporting waste to other countries to be incinerated. The idea was based on exploit- ing the spare capacity many in- cineration plants in Europe have, because of their excessive de- mand for waste imported from various other European countries – a factor which reportedly was reducing fees changed for incin- eration. Five years down the line, un- der new environment minister José Herrera, Malta was back on the road to incineration. In June 2016 Herrera hinted that the new plant will be located on a disused oil-rig. But eventually a decision was taken to locate the new plant at Ghallis and was meant to be completed by 2023. The incin- erator will generate electrical energy from the fumes emitted and will cater for around 40% of Malta's waste. One of the reasons why Magħtab has been selected as the site of the new incinerator is its proximity to the sea to supply water for the plant's cooling sys- tem. This comes from the project development statement present- ed by Wasteserv as part of the preparatory work before more detailed environmental impact studies get underway. The report shows that Magħtab was chosen after a site selection study that considered different locations, including sites near the Ta' Barkat sewage treatment plant in Xgħajra, near the power station in Delimara and near the Sant Antnin recycling plant in Marsaskala. The report indicates that an ar- ea located on the eastern side of the Magħtab waste complex has been identified as the most ap- propriate location, given that it is the one most distant from large settlements, and the one that would have the least impact in terms of ecological footprint and tree cover. The area is presently used for intensive agriculture. It is envisaged that the footprint for the waste-to-energy plant will occupy around 5,000sq.m. How- ever, the ancillary facilities that will be required will bring the to- tal footprint to circa 20,000sq.m. An issue flagged in the report is the possible negative impact the incinerator's cooling system will have on the nearby marine envi- ronment. The discharge of warm water to the sea could impact the ex- tensive Posidonia meadows in the Bahar ic-Ċagħaq waters, with Wasteserv saying this aspect has to be studied further. But cooling towers, which re- duce the water's temperature to ambient water temperature before discharge, are deemed to be too intensive in terms of land uptake. The report hints at "further consideration" to seawater in- takes and outlets, "so as to iden- tify options that are technically feasible, yet have the least possi- ble environmental impact". race against time