MP tables petitions

Labour MP George Vella yesterday presented a petition to Parliament on behalf of the Labour MPs from the third district calling for the waste recycling plant to be moved away from Sant' Antnin in Marsascala to a site away from built-up areas.

Dr Vella said the petition was signed by 8,000 people. He said the process carried out by consultants to identify an alternative site had been vitiated since the sites indicated by Mepa were far too small and unsuitable from the outset. A proper alternative site assessment should therefore be made.

Dr Vella also tabled another petition from 300 people against the building of a bypass road across Bulebel iz-Zghir for use by refuse trucks going to the waste recycling plant. Dr Vella said the road would destroy farmland.

Environment Minister George Pullicino in a reaction to the petition said in a statement that the €16.4 million investment in the Sant Antnin plant was aimed at improving the quality of life of the nearby residents. It aimed to treat the reduced throughput within an enclosed environment, to produce good quality compost and to recover energy to supply 1,400 homes with electricity all the year round.

As the second draft of the Environment Impact Assessment would show, the upgrading would improve the quality of life of the residents and the environment.