Landfills 'will always be needed'

The Malta Institute of Waste Management has welcomed the government's commitment to close the Maghtab dump by April.

It said that if current trends of increased waste generation persisted, landfills would continue to be needed in the future for alternative waste treatment technologies recycled only a fraction of waste materials into usable material. In addition, there would always be residues to dispose of in landfills or, in certain cases, dumped at sea.

However, the reclamation of materials, given the right support and proper guidance, was bound to grow, resulting in smaller amounts going to landfill.

The institute said that in view of the Maghtab experience, it was no surprise the Maltese were against any landfill. But the next landfills would be very different since legal requirements ensured that no pollutants, whether to air, ground or water, were emanated.

The successful operation of the new landfills also relied on other processes being in place.

"Having built an engineered landfill at significant expense, it would be unwise to squander its space by landfilling waste that can be avoided or recycled" the institute said. Therefore, serious efforts should be made to avoid unnecessary waste and for waste to be separated at source and recycled, where possible.

"Today there exist no suitable recycling plants and these need to be established or upgraded very soon. So those opposing the siting of the landfills in their locality will soon be joined by more localities opposing other waste management facilities which, presumably, are also in the pipeline. There is simply no alternative," the institute said.

"The Maltese people need to be educated and driven towards the best practices in dealing with wastes. One hopes we will get there through education and the realisation that we are already paying dearly for the existing bad practices."