What we know about the cluster of quarries caught in the Dingli fire

Updated 10pm with comments from Ramel u Żrar Limited

Firefighters spent over three hours battling a large blaze at the Ta’ Żuta quarry complex on the outskirts of Siġġiewi and Dingli on Saturday afternoon, a site that has been at the centre of several environmental permits and penalties for over three decades.

As thick plumes of smoke drifted over the neighboring cliffs, the incident turned a spotlight on the complex status of the area, which is divided among multiple operators and currently houses both active and expired environmental permits.

A patchwork of permits

The Ta' Żuta area is not a single entity but a cluster of adjacent quarries sharing a common border, with different owners and operators.

The site is primarily permitted for the extraction of stone and the backfilling of voids with inert material — waste such as rock and concrete that, by definition, is non-combustible.

However, a review of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and Planning Authority (PA) records shows the site is in various stages of legal standing.

Quarry HM01, operated by Ramel u Żrar Ltd, is currently listed as having an expired environmental permit (EP 1378/21), with a renewal currently "in progress". If in operation, the quarry would be technically operating illegally, but ERA does allow operators to continue works while their expired application is in the process of being renewed.

Adjoining sites HM04 (EP 1377/21) and HM30 (EP 1379/21), also operated by the same company, hold active permits. The latter is specifically authorised for vehicle maintenance and fuel storage.

A representative of Ramel u Żrar Ltd pointed out that none of the quarries it operates caught fire on Saturday and none of them contain any hazardous waste.

"Quarries HM01, HM04A and HM30, which Ramel u Żrar Limited operates, are not the only other quarries in this area. None of the quarries which Ramel u Żrar Limited operates are “filled with large amounts of rubbish” including “tyres, asbestos and other hazardous materials”.  Additionally, no part of the quarries operated by Ramel u Żrar Limited did catch fire."

They added that "there is no one common border. Borders are only common for adjacent quarries". 

The neighboring HM35 quarry, operated by the Bonnici Group, holds an active permit (EP 0023/22) which was recently updated to allow for the processing of contaminated debris from a 2023 factory fire.

It is still unclear which quarry has caught fire. It is also unclear what caused the fire but sources told Times of Malta that the burning quarry contained tyres, asbestos and other hazardous materials.

Times of Malta could not find any ERA or PA documentation allowing any operator at Ta' Żuta to store large quantities of tyres. The dumping and unsafe storage of asbestos is also illegal across Malta.

The quarry which caught fire on Saturday contained a large amount of rubbish. Photo: CPD

15 years of pending action

The Ta’ Żuta complex has a documented history of environmental wrongdoing and unresolved enforcement notices.

One of the most significant cases is EC/00015/11, an enforcement notice issued in 2011 for the "back-filling and dumping of non-inert material without a permit". Despite the notice being over 15 years old, PA records still list it as "pending direct action," with daily fines technically due.

Other breaches of the law at the complex over the years included unauthorised extensions into protected rural land, illegal dumping of construction waste outside of licensed boundaries and encroachment onto the boundaries of Natura 2000 protected zones near the Dingli Cliffs.

Some of the illegalities date back to the 1990s, however.

Under the conditions of all current and past permits at Ta’ Żuta, operators are strictly forbidden from burying or stockpiling flammable materials such as tyres, treated wood, or chemicals within the backfill areas.

Regulations mandate that any non-inert waste accidentally brought to the site must be stored in specialised quarantine skips and removed within three months.

Questions were sent to Bonnici Group.