Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1243341
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MAY 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO A staggering 4.7 million tonnes of con- struction waste was dumped in the Mal- tese sea between 2004 and 2018 – but only 16% of this amount was dumped be- tween 2014 and 2018. A fifth of the total amount of inert waste dumped in to the sea occurred in one single year in 2012, which coincided with works on Smart City in Xghajra. Waste from construction projects at MIDI, Fort Cambridge, Portomaso was also previously dumped in the sea. But despite the industrial scale of this dumping, the impacts on the marine en- vironment are still being studied and so far, only a preliminary study conducted six years ago was undertaken. This means that any revival of sea dumping – now suspended since a gov- ernment agreement for disposal at the Wied Incita quarry – would take place in the absence of a clear knowledge of its impact on the marine environment. More comprehensive studies were con- templated in the Water Catchment Man- agement Plan of 2011, to study the im- pacts of the dump site on the water and sediment quality as well as on supporting species and habitats". But a report presented by Malta to the European Commission on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in March 2020 still refers to the need for further studies on the impacts of the national spoil ground "which are expected to be undertaken in 2020". On Monday the government hinted that it could start dumping construc- tion waste from ongoing road projects in to the sea, after Infrastructure Malta stopped all roadworks, claiming no quar- ries were available to take construction waste. But Malta has some 31 quarries, all charging market prices that have been refused by agencies and other private companies. A €12 per tonne tariff at the Wied Incita quarry was since then fixed by the government. In Parliament, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said dumping construc- tion waste at sea was a short-term solu- tion. Farrugia insisted that there is still space for construction debris in several quarries, and the issue is about a lack of agreement on market prices. Decrease in dumping at sea Official data shows between 2012- 2018, the amount of material disposed of at sea at the official spoil ground, de- creased from 1 million tonnes in 2012 to 16,000 tonnes in 2016, increasing again to 425,000 tonnes in 2017, and then de- creasing to 120,000 tonnes in 2018. The material disposed of was for the most part (94%) dredge material, with the remaining (6%) inert excavation waste from coastal infrastructural projects. During the period 2007-2011, approxi- mately 1 million tonnes of waste was dis- posed at sea. In 2007-2009 the majority of the waste constituted geological material originating from construction and dem- olition projects on land, while in 2010- 2011, the majority of the waste disposed at sea constituted dredged material. In 2010, 353 tonnes of spoilt cargo (grain) were also disposed at sea. The dumping of waste of sea peaked in the period between 2011 and 2014 when a total of 2.2 million tonnes were dumped. Since no regulatory framework existed before 2002, the authorities have no idea about how much waste was dumped pri- or to that date. The spoil ground had been in use since the time of World War II when the site was used for the dumping of war-dam- aged rubble in the 1940s. The designated national spoil ground off Xghajra covers an area of approxi- mately 0.38 square kilometres. As indicated in an initial 2013 as- sessment, some of the waste has been dumped beyond the designated area. The area is characterised "by very large boul- ders" and a variety of anthropogenic (hu- man-created) material. The seabed in this area is predominant- ly made up of soft sediments. Of particu- lar note are the turbid conditions – the result of continuous sedimentation from fallout during dumping as well as re-sus- pension of sediment from the bottom – which physically damage the benthic habitats. Disposal at sea in Malta is permitted for specific types of waste streams and with- in the designated 'spoil ground'. The type of waste which can be disposed at sea in- cludes dredged material, inert geological material and spoilt cargo. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Malta's underwater Maghtab has 5 million tonnes of construction waste Waste dumped at sea decreased drastically in last years, but impact still being studied according to a report submitted to Brussels in March Amount of waste generated from construction on land disposed at sea Year Inert waste disposed at sea (tonnes) 2004 210,404 2005 357,942 2006 329,426 2007 146,205 2008 300,360 2009 74,370 2010 290,120 2011 149,120 2012 1,000,000 2013 640,000 2014 410,000 2015 200,000 2016 16,000 2017 425,000 2018 120,000 On Monday the government hinted that it could start dumping construction waste from ongoing road projects in to the sea, after Infrastructure Malta stopped all roadworks, claiming no quarries were available to take construction waste MICHAEL FALZON MT2 The case of the disappearing quarries