The management of municipal waste is a vitally important matter affecting the quality of life and public health of all citizens. Malta is facing major waste collection and rubbish disposal problems. As the population has grown steeply and citizens’ affluence and material well-being have increased, the problem of waste management has escalated. Treating and disposing all this material without harming the environment has become a major headache.
The EU’s approach to waste management is based on three principles: waste prevention through the reduction of all waste generated; recycling and re-use by recovering materials and recycling them as a means of reducing the overall environmental impact; and improving the means of final disposal of rubbish that cannot be recycled.
Before the coronavirus struck Malta, it had transpired that tonnes of domestic waste, equivalent to half of all the black bags currently being collected from households, are being dumped at the Magħtab landfill instead of being treated, because Malta does not currently have the waste treatment plant capacity to do so. COVID-19 has only made the situation worse, with all black bags now being landfilled instead of going through mechanical separation, in a measure intended to safeguard the health of workers.
Although there are two waste treatment plants – at Sant’ Antnin in Marsascala and Malta North in Magħtab – all waste is being taken to Magħtab as the Sant’ Antnin plant is not operating.
The reason for this is two-fold. First, the section of the Sant’ Antnin plant that treated recyclable waste (plastic, cardboard, and glass from bring-in sites) was destroyed in a fire two years ago. And, secondly, Sant’ Antnin’s mechanical and biological treatment plant – which was not damaged by the fire – was never designed to treat organic waste exclusively and, for various technical reasons, now needs upgrading. It was closed down three months ago for a €3 million upgrade.
Waste management concern was fuelled by pictures aired recently on television that showed truckloads of waste being landfilled at Magħtab, leading to concerns whether the efforts made by households to separate domestic waste were now either no longer needed, or simply a waste of time and to no avail.
Wasteserv, the agency tasked with waste management, strenuously denied this. It said that all the white bags (containing organic refuse) and the grey bags (containing recyclable material) were being treated. Indeed, the gas extracted from the organic waste was generating electricity to power about 700 homes, and the recyclable material was being exported.
Moreover, the agency promised that the situation regarding the disposal of black bags at Magħtab would improve in June when the Sant’Antnin plant reopens.
This should result in a smaller number of black bags being landfilled, subject to COVID-19 safety measures being eased, and all white bags being diverted to a newly refurbished Sant’ Antnin.
Given the importance of good waste management to the well-being of the population, Wasteserv must be rebuked for its somewhat dilatory approach and lack of urgency in replacing the Sant’Antnin waste treatment plant, which has already been out of action for two years and will not be replaced until 2024.
It would be surprising if the resorting to black bag disposal at Magħtab landfill did not occur again in the years ahead, thus piling even more pressure on Malta’s waste management capability.
One thing remains essential: we all need to do our part in separating waste. It has become the norm for many to do so, but others still choose to contribute to the rubbish problem.