Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/937440
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2018 News 6 JAMES DEBONO THE development of a 113-room hotel in Marsaxlokk instead of the Hunters Tower restaurant will block off the view of the sea from Triq il-Power Station and the view of the adjacent ter- raced fields from Qrejten point and Xatt is-Sajjieda. The development does not impinge on land outside the footprint of the existing restau- rant and its outdoor area but will be massive when compared to the existing building. An Environmental Impact Assessment describes the vis- ual impact of the project as a change which "would negative- ly affect the landscape charac- teristics and character of the area". The hotel's modern architec- ture will "also dominate the area and represent a notable change from the more tradi- tional landscape that is char- acteristic of the area", the EIA warns. But the EIA also warns that if the project is not approved the eco-touristic potential of the Marsaxlokk Bay area, will re- main unexploited. The EIA warns of possible negative impacts on the il-Bal- lut protected area during con- struction, but concludes that these can be avoided through sustainable construction prac- tices, such as hoarding and stone wetting that will help to reduce the quantity of dust gen- erated from the scheme site. According to the EIA the downsizing of the hotel and a proposed underground car- park could reduce the genera- tion of dust, waste, and noise that could adversely affect the marshland. "However this would imply that the proposed underground carpark would have to be abol- ished. This may have repercus- sions on the existing carpark spaces at Marsaxlokk and the economic business model of the project". This site has served as a res- taurant since the 1970s. The restaurant has an indoor and an outdoor area. The Marsaxlokk Inner Har- bour Area development brief which was issued for public consultation in December 2014 says that the Planning Author- ity would "favourably" consider tourism-related uses, includ- ing "tourism accommodation" in the Hunters Tower area, but insists proposals, should not exceed the current two-storey height limitation. Back in 1998, an application by former Labour PM John Dalli to demolish the Hunt- ers Tower restaurant and con- struct a 93-room, three-storey hotel was refused. The present application was presented by D&B Catering Limited, a com- pany owned by Jon-Jon Dalli. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Hotel will dominate Marsaxlokk views An EIA report describes the visual impact of the project as a change which "would negatively affect the landscape characteristics and character of the area" MARIA PACE LABOUR MEP Miriam Dalli will be leading negotiations on the European Union's car emission standards beyond 2020, considered as one of the most critical EU legisla- tions that can help reduce emissions across the EU. In a statement, Dalli said that the legislation is not only about climate change targets but it will open opportunities for her to push for better air quality, cleaner cars and citi- zens' safety. "I will be working on this legislation as more news continue to unveil how Volk- swagen cheated on emissions tests and tested the impact of emissions on monkeys and humans alike. I will put the interests of citizens, workers, honest operators, innova- tion and research at the fore- front," the Maltese MEP said. The European Parliament had already recommended a 30% target back in 2013. In the Commission´s current propos- al, this 30% reduction would only be met five years later. "This is an issue that I will be looking into and address- ing," Miriam Dalli insisted. The statement said that the draft regulation would try to address three key problems: insufficient uptake of electric and low-emissions vehicles; the possibility that consum- ers might be missing out on fuel savings; and the EU´s risk of losing its competitive advantage due to insufficient innovation in low-emission automotive technologies. The latest data released by Transport Malta and the National Statistics Of- fice showed that there were 372,061 licensed motor vehi- cles in Malta as of December 2017, more than 78% of which were passenger cars. The da- ta shows that 36 new cars are registered every day in Malta, whose island population is just over 400,000. Slightly above 60% of vehi- cles had petrol engines, with 39% running on diesel. Less than 1% of all vehicles on the road were electric or hybrid. Between 2005 and 2014, the level of emissions from land transport in Malta grew by 16.4%. "Reducing carbon emis- sions is about improving air quality for our citizens, en- couraging manufacturers to innovate and give back the EU´s a competitive edge that benefits consumers and economies," Dalli added. In her role as rapporteur, Dalli will be holding discus- sions with all stakeholders and push for the best pos- sible deal with the European Council that puts consum- ers, public health, Europe's competitiveness and climate change at its forefront. MEP Miriam Dalli to lead EU legislation for cleaner cars THE use of the grey bag for recycling has increased by al- most 15% over 2015, and black bag mixed waste has now gone down by 5.8%. The figures, issued by the Na- tional Statistics Office, are a sign of growing recycling habits by Maltese families. Almost all of Malta's treated waste was landfilled in 2016, namely 92.2 per cent of the 249,711 tonnes of municipal waste that was treated. In total municipal waste amounted to 282,709 tonnes, up by 13,049 tonnes over 2015. On a per capita basis, this amounted to 642 kilograms, which is 3.4 per cent higher when compared to 2015. Mixed municipal waste com- prised 62.8 per cent (177,464 tonnes) of the total municipal waste generation in 2016, de- creasing by 2.9 per cent over the previous year. Bulky waste, which is also an- other mixed waste stream, made up 15.4 per cent (43,653 tonnes) of the total waste generation, an increase of 35.6 per cent over 2015. The data breakdown by waste origin shows that the black bag collection from local coun- cils constituted 48.3 per cent (136,619 tonnes) of the total mu- nicipal waste generation in 2016. The equivalent figure for the green/grey bag and glass col- lection from households was 6.1 per cent (17,113 tonnes). In comparison to 2015, the black bag collection from local coun- cils decreased by 5.8 per cent whilst the green/grey bag and glass collection increased by 14.7 per cent. But for the third year in a row, municipal waste that was dis- posed in bring-in sites has seen a decrease which in 2016 amount- ed to 4.7 per cent. Municipal waste treatment In 2016, the total amount of municipal waste that was land- filled went down by 10,603 tonnes when compared to 2015. The share of landfilling from the total municipal waste treat- ed stood at 92.2 per cent, down from the 92.8 per cent that was recorded in 2015. In 2016, a shift in the composition of waste that was disposed at the landfill oc- curred due to the commence- ment of operations at the Malta North Mechanical-Biological Treatment plant. The share of mixed municipal waste decreased from 59.0 per cent in 2015 to 36.3 per cent in 2016, while rejects from the mechanical treatment of waste increased from 16.2 per cent to 30.3 per cent. During the year under review, the share of material recycling advanced from 6.9 per cent to 7.6 per cent. At 56.0 per cent (10,555 tonnes) paper and cardboard made up the bulk of recycled amounts, followed by metals standing at 16.0 per cent (3,022 tonnes). In 2016 there was a threefold increase in the difference be- tween municipal waste gen- eration and treatment mainly resulting from the increase in sorted material that was held in storage prior to being exported for final treatment. More Maltese families are recycling their municipal waste, NSO data shows