Ghallis landfill contaminants 'will be controlled and treated'

The company entrusted with the new landfill in Ghallis yesterday hit back at the chorus of disapproval and appealed to the public to realise the massive constraints of creating a new landfill in a tiny island.

Still, WasteServ Malta Ltd promised that the new engineered landfill would not be "another Maghtab" and that any inconvenience would be kept to a minimum.

The government's announcement on Monday that it would create an engineered landfill at Ghallis was met with opposition from various sectors who criticised the selected site and cited a lack of adequate planning.

The new controlled engineered landfill is expected to come into operation around April next year, just before the notorious Maghtab landfill is finally sealed off, as pledged by the date of EU membership.

WasteServ is expecting the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to issue the permits for the landfill around October or November.

"It's a managed landfill which means its contaminants will be controlled and treated. It is not a land-rise," WasteServ Ltd's chief executive officer Vincent Magri stressed in an interview.

On the contrary, the Maghtab landfill has in the last few years turned into an "unmanaged incinerator".

"WasteServ has taken over a tall order and it's no joke to implement this strategy."

Mr Magri said that, unfortunately, the only experience Malta has of a landfill today is the one in Maghtab where waste was being mixed together, regardless of content.

An engineered landfill means waste will be deposited in a contained space, from which any liquids and gases are collected and treated.

Around three million cubic metres will be excavated from Ghallis to make way for the landfill which will last 20 years.

A good majority of the soft stone extracted will be used to screen the landfill, to create layers in the landfill and to rehabilitate Maghtab, Mr Magri explained.

The high temperatures packed inside Maghtab will have to be treated and any emissions will have to be collected and controlled.

Asked whether the public was justified in treating such promises with trepidation, Mr Magri said one had to keep in mind that Malta will shortly become a member of the EU.

This meant that the country would have to adopt strict disciplinary measures and the site would be under constant surveillance.

Mr Magri said it was surprising to hear people suddenly complaining about the prospect of trucks going in and out of Ghallis, when 300 fewer trucks are now going into Maghtab.

Since July 1, no construction waste is being dumped in Maghtab and, therefore, traffic had already been whittled down. Construction waste is being dumped in exhausted quarries.

Mr Magri said the suggestion by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association to build smaller landfills around the island rather than a single large one was not recommended since this meant creating an inconvenience over too many sites. Likewise, there was a bigger risk of losing control.

WasteServ however stressed the importance of inducing a culture change in a concerted drive to reduce waste.

The EU does not oblige member states to impose waste separation but rather asks them to recover dry recyclable fractions and limit the quantities of bio-degradable fractions that can be deposited at a landfill.

The facilities for waste recycling are intended to be completed by 2006, an exercise which will be partly funded by the EU.

Mr Magri is optimistic that the Maltese will eventually get used to the idea of separating waste at source, the same way the culture of seat belts has caught on.

Christopher Ciantar, WasteServ's head of strategy communications and development, said one had to keep in mind that the selection process was not done frivolously but it had been a lengthy and intense seven-year process.

"Malta is a mere 29 kilometres in length and tourists go everywhere, so there will always be an impact on tourism, irrespective where the landfill is located."

The reality is that Malta is small and understandably nobody wants a landfill in his back yard, Dr Ciantar said.

"It is a must for the country to have these facilities as soon as possible. When we stop generating waste we can just pack up, but we know this can't happen. It's a necessary evil."