Hazardous waste: what's the problem?

"ANY TYPE of waste which may be a risk to health and the environment is hazardous. The European Hazardous Waste List 94/904/EC has been adopted as the definitive list of hazardous wastes in the EU." This was the opening of FOI Council member and FOI Environment Committee chairman Godwin C. Micallef's address at an information meeting organised by the Malta Business Bureau of the Malta Federation of Industry and the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, with the kind support of the British High Commission.

The seminar, which was entitled 'Hazardous Waste: What's the Problem?' was aimed at familiarising members on the implications of hazardous waste management and related issues, and was held on Tuesday.

The FOI official continued: "There are various kinds of hazardous waste which is not only generated by the manufacturing industry. According to a National Statistics Office survey three per cent of Malta's domestic waste composition is hazardous.

"The agricultural industry is one of the worst pollutants. Reliable sources report that the industry uses more, per capita, than double the pesticides used on average in the EU. We all know that clinical waste is a big problem in Malta and there is quite a large amount of this hazardous waste which, unfortunately, is not all disposed of properly."

Mr Micallef later stated: "In the not too distant past industry used to get a permit and send its hazardous waste to Maghtab to be stored in a designated area. This is no longer possible. Permits are not being used and the firms are being told to export the material.

"As Malta is a signatory of the Basle Convention, the procedures are lengthy and the cost to export is horrendous as any shipment must be made direct to the country where the waste is going to be recycled or used for energy generation. If the ship is in transit through another country then the costs will increase further.

"Most firms are storing the material on their premises, which may infringe the health and safety regulations. Space on the premises is very limited and firms no longer have the necessary space available. To make matters worse, a private waste management firm has space available, but MEPA is dragging its feet to issue the necessary permit.

"There are also the high costs brought about by an anachronistic situation at the ports where cartels, vested interests and restrictive practices in cargo handling and transport of merchandise further increases the cost to transport any hazardous waste."

The FOI official then outlined the various contributions of the FOI Environment Committee in solving this problem including:

¤ in 2000 it assisted in formulating the Hazardous Waste Consignment Note which is still in use to-day;

¤ it was the first organisation to come to an agreement with a Government Authority, in this case, the Drainage Department in establishing a Voluntary Undertaking. This was the first such agreement made in Malta. The purpose is to conform to the liquid effluent discharge permit.

¤ it was instrumental in the granting of a licence to operate the only waste oils recycling plant in Malta;

¤ it made special arrangements with Sea Malta to give a subsidised freight rate to industries for the transport of hazardous waste. Sea Malta is fully licensed to carry such waste;

¤ through its connection with the Cleaner Technology Centre it offers advice and special testing fees for all FOI members;

¤ as an ongoing process, it is facilitating contacts between Malta and the EU to get competitive rates for the export and disposal of hazardous waste;

¤ it forms part of a joint committee with the Malta Standards Authority to make a report on the proposed EU Regulations on Chemicals REACH (Registration Evaluation, Authorisation of Chemicals); and

¤ the FOI is continuously urging the Government to solve the monopolistic situation at the ports where charges are prohibitive.

The seminar was also addressed by Jessica Ball, a chartered chemist, who was invited from the UK to deliver two presentations focusing on hazardous waste management in the UK and analysing the benefits of hazardous waste minimisation.

Franck Lauwers, Environment Protection Officer in the Resources Management Unit of MEPA (Waste Management Team), delivered a presentation on permits and Henrietta Debono from WasteServ Malta Ltd presented the operator's perspective.