Tons of white goods are being stored in an illegal facility run by state agency Wasteserv, in blatant breach of environmental and planning laws, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has claimed on Monday evening in Parliament.
The amount of water heaters, fridges and television sets held at the electronic waste storage facility is way more than the limit normally allowed, he said.
The site forms part of the Bitmac batching plant in Iklin and is meant to hold the waste temporarily until it is exported for recycling abroad.
Its existence first came to light last March when Times of Malta revealed that the government had awarded a €1 million direct order to Bitmac Ltd to use part of its plant to store electronic waste from the overflowing civic amenity sites.
Doubts arose about the legality of the facility, however, and the Planning Authority said it would be looking into it.
The PA then issued an enforcement notice in April against both Wasteserv and Bitmac over the “illegal change of use” – from an asphalt plant to an electronic waste facility.
The enforcement notice was challenged and the case is now pending before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.
Speaking in Parliament during the parliamentary debate on the financial estimates of the Environment Ministry, Dr Azzopardi lashed out at the Environment Ministry, which is politically responsible for Wasteserv. Rather than regularise its position the agency kept receiving electronic waste as if nothing happened, he said.
The Environment Resources Authority normally allows a maximum of 49 tons of electronic waste to be held in temporary facilities like the one in question.
In this case, however, the amount of waste – such as water heaters, fridges and television sets – had reached several hundred tons, the MP claimed.
Dr Azzopardi tabled photos of the site.
“How can the government speak on the rule of law when Wasteserv is blatantly breaking the law? Where is the minister who is supposedly bound to ensure that the law is equal for all?” the MP asked.
Dr Azzopardi also raised questions about how Wasterserv had awarded the contract to Bitmac.
“Why was no tender issued? Was the fact that Keith Schembri [the Prime Minister’s chief of staff] is a silent partner of this company the determining factor in the selection process?”
Dr Azzopardi drew a parallel with the fate of the Sant Antnin recycling plant in Marsascala and the Magħtab landfill, which were consumed by fires in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The Iklin facility was used as boat yard until February last year when it went up in flames.
Dr Azzopardi also questioned the environmental practices being adopted by Wasteserv. .