Waste strategy

In his obsession to shoot down anybody who dares to utter a word of criticism against WasteServ, Chris Ciantar (July 19) is incapable of distinguishing between friend and foe. He does not recognise that people like myself are his biggest allies. I have no political alliances or aspirations or any hidden agenda. I am an environmentalist expressing support for WasteServ's recycling project. I am on record saying that the Sant'Antnin recycling project is essentially a good project. I consider it key to Malta's waste management strategy; the plant will recycle waste and therefore divert waste from landfills, provide electricity from a renewable source and moreover it will be paid for from EU funds. I have gone as far as to say: "God forbid that the recycling project fails".

So what did I do to deserve Dr Ciantar's frontal onslaught? I merely expressed my opinion on why WasteServ is facing opposition from various quarters, including some from which they ought to expect support.

I could reply to all points put forward by Dr Ciantar and bore your readers to death. It was never my intention to start a tit-for-tat public exchange of letters with him on this subject and I do not plan to do so now.

However, I must point out that his last paragraph proves what I have been saying all along. He informs us that the review of the Solid Waste Management Strategy is nearing completion. Great! So here we have yet another situation whereby the stakeholders are presented with yet another fait accompli and are expected to endorse it with arms wide open and say "prosit u grazzi". Any criticism will be considered destructive and any changes to the original document (if any) will be of a cosmetic nature. We have danced to this tune far too often.

I ask whether the environmental NGOs were consulted at the stage of the formulation of the review. Or is the contribution of these veritable experts irrelevant? Perhaps NGOs ought to start charging hefty consultancy fees for their input to be taken seriously.

And, a question to the minister: Is it conducive to a proper evaluation to entrust the strategy review to the same officials whose task it was to implement the original strategy in the first place? This is tantamount to instructing a student to correct his/her own exam paper.

Will this review be used as an attempt to gloss over those targets which we were meant to achieve but are light years away from reaching? For example, the strategy set a target for a reduction in construction and demolition waste of 20 per cent by 2005. To my knowledge C&D waste has increased by 40 per cent during the period 2000-2005! Is the review intended to paint a rosier picture of past failures?

I would like to take Dr Ciantar back to 2000 during the time when the waste strategy was being drafted by the foreign consultants engaged to carry out this ground-breaking task. Possibly this was before his days in the waste sector.

I recall the numerous meetings and exchanges the environment NGOs had with these foreign consultants, some extending for hours and taking place at each possible opportunity, even in hotel lounges. For the first time ever, public consultation was alive and real. For the first time ever, environment NGOs were rewarded for their efforts and saw their proposals endorsed in an official national document. In hindsight it was an experience to be relished.

In the concluding part of his letter Dr Ciantar states that "in this (review) document, one will have a very vivid interpretation of how Malta may indeed achieve the various targets..." Sounds like Stephen Spielberg promoting his next blockbuster to cinema goers! Hello? We are not the audience, we are part of the cast. He goes on to say that he hopes that I, "and indeed all those who have the environment at heart will participate in the review of the waste strategy to the full". You bet! Frankly, our invitation is long overdue."