Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516210
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 FEBRUARY 2024 ANALYSIS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt WASTESERV wants to extend the Ghallis landfill vertically to fit in a greater amount of waste until a planned incinerator starts operating. In a race against time, this is the second time in four years that the national waste agency has presented such an applica- tion. Plans presented to the Plan- ning Authority show that on the sloped part of the engi- neered landfill the height will increase by 11m to 17m. The maximum height of the land- fill, which was set at 82m above sea level in the 2022 permit, will be retained. Back in 2022 the Planning Authority had already ap- proved plans for increasing the height of the landfill, which gained an additional 850,000 cubic metres of waste storage space. At the time it was estimated that this had given the coun- try a two-year respite as the agency worked on new infra- structure to address the waste problem. A Planning Authority case of- ficer, recommending approval two years ago, had described "the limited void space" availa- ble at Ghallis's non-hazardous landfill as "the most significant waste management issue at the national level". The 2022 permit allowed Wasteserv to increase the vertical height of the landfill profile to augment its capaci- ty. The permit was issued "to allow for sufficient time to de- velop alternative waste dispos- al options". The Ghallis landfill is the on- ly disposal option for non-haz- ardous waste in a country where most waste is still land- filled in breach of EU targets set by the Landfill Directive. An increase in height of the landfill was considered as a better alternative to the uptake of more land adjacent to the landfill. A previous permit to recon- tour the eastern side of Għallis approved in 2019 had already gained an additional 9 to 12 months of landfill void space. The emergency situation fac- ing Malta is a result of decades of procrastination under dif- ferent administrations on de- cisive steps to encourage waste separation and recycling, which made incineration una- voidable. But with the incinerator tak- ing 40% of the country's waste, bolder steps will still be re- quired to increase recycling and re-use and decrease land- filling. NSO statistics show that in 2022, 86.2% of all waste was disposed at Ghallis. ERA asks for more studies In its reaction to Wasteserv's latest application, the Envi- ronment and Resources Au- thority has called for a stabil- ity risk assessment in order to illustrate how the placement of more waste on the site will impact on the stability of the landfill to avoid the risk of slippages. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has asked for photomontages of the pro- posed vertical increase taken from various vantage points. Landfill to get higher again in race against time Health minister, shadow minister on the same page on a number of health sector issues HEALTH minister Jo Etienne Abela and his opposition counterpart Adrian Delia ap- peared to be on the same page on a number of issues when they discussed Malta's health sector on TVM's Xtra. Abela and Delia, who've both been oc- cupying their posts for the past few weeks, were fielding questions regarding the health sector. When asked to make a list of the sec- tor's priorities, Delia mentioned Mater Dei's emergency department, which he described as being strained by the rapid increase in population during the past decade. It is for the same reason that Delia noted the importance of the country having a sec- ond hospital. When asked by Saviour Balzan whether he believes that the country's fi- nances can deliver such a hospital, Delia said that they can, if state funds are properly spent. Responding to this, the health minister agreed that the emergency department is a priority for him, noting that this can be ad- dressed through measures such as expand- ing the emergency services beyond Mater Dei Hospital. This, according to him, can be done by providing the same services in na- tion-wide centres as well as through more partnerships with the private health sector. The health minister shifted towards a pressing projection, highlighting that this year, the number of people over 60 will sur- pass the number of people below that age, which means that the health sector will have to deal with increasing numbers of patients. The pair also spoke about the fraudulent hospitals concession, as Delia noted that Abela has inherited a problem which means that the Maltese health sector had been stalled for eight years. In his rebuttal, Abela disagreed with that statement, noting that despite the deal, Mal- ta's health sector delivers good results, no- tably when it comes to cancer treatments. This, the minister said, could not be possible if government had not invested in the health sector. Towards the end of their discussion, the PN's health spokesperson noted that strains on the health sector could be avoided through investing in the prevention of dis- eases, rather than only focussing on curing patients. In fact, Delia noted that patients who suffer from obesity and respiratory diseases could be avoided if government invested in educa- tion and cleaner air. MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Jo Etienne Abela and Adrian Delia on Xtra