Waste management

As an environment professional, I have to agree with Dr Alfred Sant and all those who are against the proposed landfills. I would like to ask who conducted the EIA assessment and what conceptual designs were used.

Environmental professionals are committed to protect the environment and public health. Choosing sites close to world heritage monuments is definitely wrong, and not in the best interest of the Maltese people.

This administration has demonstrated lack of leadership in dealing with environmental problems. The list of such problems include hazardous material spills, water reclamation, air pollution problems associated with stationary sources such as Enemalta, St Luke's Hospital incineration system, above-ground storage tanks and storage and dumping of waste oil in Manoel Island. Used oil contains traces of mercury and other carcinogenic chemicals that are harmful to humans, plants and other species. The waste management problem still exists, including garbage pick-up.

Government should consider other technologies such as source reduction, energy recovery and thermal process such as gasification and vitrification. Another state-of-the-art facility recycles over 90 per cent of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge.

The primary product from this treatment is ethanol, which is clean alternative burning fuel. Ethanol is also used as an oxygenate that reduces hazardous tailpipe emissions and compounds that contribute to ground-level ozone, also known as smog, and replaces petroleum-based MTBE, which has contaminated groundwater in New York, California and Massachusetts. The end results are that only the remainder, that 10 per cent, ends up in landfills.

Landfilling requires a massive parcel of land. Land management is also important. Waste generated and collected every day makes this situation even harder. Temperature, seismic, hydro-geological, leachate, ground-water protection, VOC and post-closure plans should also be considered. Landfills are calculated on a 20-year life span. Post-closure requires another 20 years, a total life span of 40 years. Temporary landfills are not the solution. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the solution.

This administration has consulted foreign experts. The situation has to be improved and Government should start implementing its own strategy instead of what these foreign consultants suggest. The EU should be regarded as a regulator and enforcer such as the EPA. However states should be allowed to make their own regulations. Laws and regulations should be tailored for Malta. An engineered landfill designed and operated in the northern hemisphere is different from landfills designed and operated elsewhere.

Climate conditions, temperature, humidity, geology and seismic conditions are all factors which should be considered in choosing a landfill location. Other important issues are transportation and building roads to the proposed sites. Perhaps the government should consider opting a different approach to this problem. What about using Filfla as a dumping site?