Mayors call for inquiry on Sant'Antnin recycling plant

The Committee Against the Proposed Recycling Plant will be asking Environment Minister George Pullicino to open an independent and transparent inquiry to let the people know how the site for the upgraded Sant'Antnin waste recyling plant was chosen.

Marsascala mayor Charlo Mifsud pointed out at a press conference held at the Zabbar civic centre yesterday that more than Lm100,000 of taxpayers' money were at stake and the people had the right to know what happened.

He said the committee was also going to contact EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

Residents of seven localities in the south east of the island were also urged by their mayors to attend a meeting about the Sant'Antnin recycling plant tomorrow as a sign of protest.

Mr Mifsud said the people of his locality together with those of Zabbar, Zejtun, Ghaxaq, Tarxien, Gudja and Fgura would be protesting civilly, but with great determination against WasteServ's "negative and arrogant" attitude and the lack of protection given to them by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Mr Mifsud said it seemed that for WasteServ consultation simply meant sending a technical report, and with MEPA's approval, expect all interested parties to make their submissions and objections within a few days.

He said the consultation process had been poor after both the first and second environmental statements were published.

Zejtun mayor Joe Attard said even some "members of the government" were worried about the way consultation was taking place. Questioned about this, Mr Attard said Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo had commented at a meeting that consultation was more than just sending a document.

The mayors also criticised the way the site for the recycling plant had been chosen. Mr Attard described it as a "story of deceit", saying that even though four sites were initially identified, only Sant'Antnin was deemed good for this purpose.

"Ghallis was not considered good enough because of the lizards living in the area and the Coastline Hotel. But what about the residents who live close to Sant'Antnin? Aren't they as important as the lizards?"

The story was one of deceit, he alleged, because the decision that the recycling plant would be at Sant'Antnin was taken from the start. He asked what interests WasteServ had to have the plant there.

Zabbar mayor Dominic Agius said the plant has been causing inconvenience to residents of his locality for years, adding that WasteServ had lost the people's trust and was no longer considered credible.

Meanwhile, Fgura mayor Darren Marmarà said traffic in the seven localities would increase because of the recycling plant, adding to air and noise pollution. He said that if the proposed plant was built, property in the seven localities would decline in value, and added that the residents should be given compensation for the negative effects of the plant.

Committee secretary Joe Sant said that since it was set up, the committee's mission statement was that if the plant were to be pulled down, a serious analysis of all sites in Malta, including Marsascala, should be carried out to find the best one.

Asked about the committee's reaction to the report issued by the Church Environment Commission on Friday, Mr Sant said it agreed with the commission that a number of issues had not been dealt with properly. He said the commission also stated that the plant should not be pulled down

The committee's legal consultant, Toni Abela, referred to a judicial protest by the committee complaining that the four sites chosen should not have been compared with each other. He said WasteServ's and MEPA's silence on this complaint was a clear indication that the study was corrupt. He appealed for common sense to prevail.

Dr Abela asked for tomorrow's meeting to either be postponed, or else for it to be the first of a series of public meetings.

He said MEPA in this case was not acting as it does with regard to private development applications.

"To date the local councils have reacted, but residents are also preparing to react legally," he said, adding that thousands of people had done their homework as to how this plant would affect their lives and their property, "and we could end up with some 3,000 lawsuits against WasteServ and MEPA."

In a counter-statement, WasteServ chairman Christopher Ciantar emphasised that the Sant'Antnin recycling plant will be improved to be able to treat 71,000 tonnes of waste, a third of the waste generated in Malta. He explained that 36,000 tonnes were recyclable waste and another 35,000 tonnes organic waste.

Dr Ciantar rebutted claims that Lm7.2 million would be spent just for the plant to treat 5,000 tonnes more annually than it is doing now. It said the proposed plant produced better compost, energy for around 1,400 homes and better working conditions.

He said the plant was not going to be extended, but it would be part of a system of plants around Malta. He said the government had set up a technical committee to update the waste management strategy.

"It is not true that WasteServ wants to hide something from the residents," he said, adding that as the Church's commission said, consultation over the past months according to MEPA regulations led to an acceptable proposal to safeguard the interests of residents.

With regard to traffic, Dr Ciantar said the second environment statement showed that the impact on the localities affected would be negligible.