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| Photo by James Bianchi |
Malta Today 12th September 2018
Whatever
the cause of the recent Maghtab fire, Government should have issued an
immediate bulletin to explain details, risks and required action based on
knowledge in hand. Like last year, when a similar incident took place at the
Waste Separation facility at Marsaskala, it did not.
On the other hand, the Civil
Protection Department was efficient and timely in carrying out its duties, and
we should all be grateful to its workers.
Environment Minister Josè
Herrera did address a press conference some hours after news of the fire broke
out, but I do not think that he put people’s mind at rest on Malta’s waste
management operations. We already are European laggards on waste recycling and
quality of air: civic-minded people need to know whether their participation in
recycling schemes is fruitful or not.
People also need to know the
state of play of the Waste Separation Plant at Marsaskala and the results of
the internal inquiry which are in the possession of Minister Herrera.
Taxpayers should be informed
about the duties assigned to complement around 80 workers who were employed by
Wasteserv after the Marsaskala fires and before the 2017 general elections, and
we also should be informed whether all experts and professionals at Wasteserv
are being employed to the best of their abilities.
Another question which people
are asking is whether Malta’s current economic model based on the importation
of thousands of workers is based on sustainable planning, given the countries
infrastructural challenges. Is Malta equipped to cater for a hefty increase in
waste, for example?
As regards the Maghtab fire,
can the Ministry for the Environment provide scientific evidence that the waste
in question was really refuse-derived fuel and whether its storage was in
accordance with EU standards?
Minister Herrera said that
Malta would have been spared from such a fire had an incinerator been in place.
This merits another question: Can Government be trusted to manage an
incinerator given the mismanagement at Marsaskala and Maghtab?
Can Government also explain
why it is consistently ignoring the concerns of local councils near Maghtab,
and can it publish minutes of meetings that led to its decision to resort to
incineration for 40 per cent of Malta’s waste? Incidentally, it is interesting
that Government announced the incineration policy after the 2017 general
election and declared that it will be ready in 2023, hence after, and not
before the next general election.
It is a pity that following
Malta’s EU accession in 2004 the country was generally improving its waste
management policies through recycling and engineered landfilling, although it
had new challenges such as the influx of plastic bottles. A green leaders’
scheme was introduced in the public sector to encourage better practices.
What we now have in place is a
top-down system that lacks transparency, that ignores local councils and that
contradicts its own rhetoric in the circular economy. Suffice to say that
construction waste – which accounts for around 85 per cent of waste in the
islands – is not re-used, and business waste is largely unaccounted for.
Should government want to
combat scepticism on its waste management policies, it should be more
forthcoming in the provision of information and it should consider local councils
and civil society as partners rather than adversaries. Many people are willing
to contribute to protect Malta’s environment. They deserve efficient and
transparent management systems.
