Gozo rubbish dump closing tomorrow

The government has identified a stretch of land at Tal-Kus, between Ghajnsielem and Xewkija, to be used as a permanent transfer station of waste on its way to Malta, Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.

The government will be applying for EU funds for the rehabilitation of the waste dump at Qortin in the limits of Xaghra, which is to be closed tomorrow.

All Gozo's household waste will start being transported to the landfill at Maghtab. In fact, trucks have already started bringing over waste and a temporary transfer station has been opened near the gate at Qortin.

WasteServ Malta Ltd, which has the task of managing waste in Malta and Gozo, has filed an application for the Tal-Kus transfer station.

Gozo produces between 25 and 50 tons of waste daily depending on the time of year.

As can be expected, the Qortin site is infested with rats and WasteServ has embarked on a rodent control programme to prevent them from migrating.

Mr Pullicino said during a site visit that the transfer of waste to Malta did not remove the responsibility of waste management from the Gozitans, who were urged to separate waste before taking it to waste bring-in sites.

There are already nine such sites in Gozo and nine others will be introduced soon.

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said that over the years Qortin had become an eyesore.

The closure of the site, its rehabilitation and the setting up of a waste transfer station proved that waste management was high on government's agenda, she said.

In a presentation on the development of the temporary transfer facility, WasteServ's head of strategy and development, Chris Ciantar, said it included sorting and storage bays for the different waste streams and a loading bay for the transportation of non-inert and non-hazardous waste.

Two hoppers have been installed so that two larger vehicles can be loaded with municipal solid waste instantaneously.

The domestic refuse collection vehicles will empty their waste load into the hoppers at the upper level of the site. Larger vehicles will park at the lower part of the site underneath the hoppers. The waste will be tipped from the upper level to the larger waste collecting vehicles parked underneath.

All constructed structures are temporary and will be removed once the permanent facility at Tal-Kus becomes available.

The non-hazardous, non-inert waste will be transported to Malta for treatment or disposal, via Gozo Channel vessels in the evening using large vehicles, thereby reducing the number of vehicles carrying waste to a bare minimum, he said.

Dr Ciantar stressed that any hazardous waste would be received only in approved and safe containers and be transferred to Malta in dedicated vehicles, accompanied by the necessary certification for their safe handling.

Gozo Channel Co. has laid down a set of conditions for the transport of the waste-laden trucks, including that they are to be cleaned before being loaded onto the ferries. In fact, the temporary station exit is equipped with a wheel washer for all vehicles leaving the site.