Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/260953
Opinion 25 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2014 T he unfortunate chemical spillage from a factory in Marsa and other similar incidents highlights once again the need for enforcement when it comes to industrial safet y. Although it is still not clear what caused the spillage, the ensuing chaos caused major traffic gridlock with Aldo Moro Road having to be closed. Half of Malta was a big traffic jam! Apart from the stress of being stuck for hours in traffic, and the danger of the cars skidding on the slippery road, there was the very possible real danger posed by the chemical itself. I don't know whether the substance was toxic or not, but this was one clear example of how important it is to ensure that hazardous waste is disposed of properly. A special unit from the Civil Protection Department was on the scene immediately, cleaning up the waste, but perhaps specific details should be officially published to set the public's mind at rest on what this chemical residue actually was, and to allay fears that it might have been harmful. We also need to know how this happened and make sure the factory carries out regular safet y checks as a form of prevention. Safet y checks should be an automatic obligation for all those who work with chemical materials, but are the correct mechanisms in place to ensure that everything is being done according to procedure? Or does negligence and carelessness start to creep in, until an accident happens? For example, despite the insistence that workmen should wear safet y helmets and be properly harnessed when working on heights, how many times do we hear that someone has fallen, injured or even died on a construction site? Another issue of grave concern is what was described as a "prolonged leak " of cement wash from a concrete factory and cow urine being dumped from a neighbouring farm, which are contaminating Ħal Farruġ valley. Harsh penalties need to be imposed on those responsible, but more crucially, the onus of responsibilit y for cleaning up the valley – as well as the financial cost of doing so – should be placed on those who contaminated it. After all there are fines for owners whose dogs leave their droppings outside; so why not on those who commit bigger environmental crimes? EU regulations and standards imposed on industrial areas to protect the environment are an essential part of what being a member state means. The environment should not simply be our concern when there is over-development in our neighbourhood, but every one of us should learn to have a sense of civic pride wherever we see neglect, abuse or sheer carelessness. While laws are in place and enforcement has to come from above, there are many instances where the environment is being ruined due to sheer egoism and laziness. The culprits are not always found in industrial estates either. We see this attitude all around us: recycling bring-in sites for paper, plastic, glass and tin, turn into dumping areas for organic rubbish. The result is a festering, stinking mess which is not only unpleasant but can only lead to disease. In some towns and villages, the bring-in sites have had to be removed because they had turned into mini- landfills with stray dogs and cats pawing through them for food, strewing the rubbish all over the pavements and streets. Malta lags behind in certain areas, but rubbish collection is not one of them. Here we have daily rubbish collection, whereas in many cities throughout Europe, organic waste is only collected once a week. Recycled items in the familiar grey bags (which make up the bulk of our waste) are collected from our doorsteps at least once a week. A free bulky refuse service is available to collect large unwanted items, again very conveniently, from right in front of our homes. Yet, if you take a walk in the countryside, you will still see a shocking amount of dumping of everything under the sun – including washing machines and fridges! There seems to be a complete inabilit y to comprehend that every plastic bottle, every mattress, every takeaway carton which is simply thrown carelessly away in a field, in the sea or simply in the gutter, will stay there forever unless someone else takes the initiative to pick it up and dispose of it properly. Regulations and standards imposed by the EU are all well and good, but they are meaningless unless there is a complete shift in the mind-set of every single one of us. Starting from the smallest child all the way to the owner of a factory, we need to stop pretending that it has nothing to do with us and looking the other way. I believe we will really have made giant steps forward in the way we care for our environment and our own safet y if, rather than thinking about the possible fine, we refrain from dumping, littering and taking undue risks because it is the right thing to do. It is an important culture change which we need to instil. It is using the present to take care of the future, if not for us, for our children and theirs. If we only keep this in mind, we will think twice about throwing that cigarette out of the window, that mattress in a field and ignoring recycling procedures. Marlene Mizzi is a Labour MEP info@mizzimarlene.com Marlene Mizzi EU regulations imposed on industrial areas to protect the environment are an essential part of what being an EU state means Stefano Mallia A culture change on environment