Maghtab: incineration and land reclamation

Many Maltese citizens, especially those living in and around Maghtab, cherish a vision of a flattened rubbish dump, filled with trees and bushes and gentle meandering paths.

Deep down I worry that Maghtab mizbla is here to stay. I say this because over the past two decades or so, we have had repeatedly been promised that it is to close down.

The latest statement by Minister George Pullicino (The Sunday Times, July 25) to me seems to be a contradiction in terms. How can he claim that Maghtab mizbla has been closed down, when with the same breath he states that the "Ta' Zwejra engineered waste management facility... lies within the existing Maghtab dump boundaries"? I fail to see the logic of his claim. This is akin to stating that we have closed the shop, but we are still operating from the basement, or the first floor or from wherever, in the same building!

At the end of the day, those of us living at Maghtab, Salina and Bahar ic-Caghaq are still lumbered with the filthy mountain. All that has really happened is a minor alteration in nomenclature: from Maghtab mizbla to Ta' Zwejra whathaveyou. Moreover, the proposed Ghallis engineered landfill will simply shift the location slightly to the North West, and indirectly create an extension of Maghtab mizbla.

At the end of the day, all our refuse - and now that of Gozo too - will go on being deposited in Maghtab. Nobody residing in the area is fooled by political platitudes. Not long ago, a half-hearted attempt was made to pacify residents. This comprised a pathetic 'lecture' by a combined representation from Friends of the Earth and WasteServ on waste separation and the Naxxar Waste Management Pilot Project.

Useful though this might be, it does not remove our mountain, the lorries that sometimes hold a private grand prix on Maghtab's main road, the dust, the smells, the health dangers. Sad to say, we have lost faith in anyone officially connected with waste management. We feel we have been let down once too often.

We are rightly upset because over nearly three decades Malta has blundered blindly with its waste management policy. We have got nowhere. The resultant mountain of waste in Maghtab is symptomatic of a backward, third world society that has an unacceptably high degree of uneducated citizens.

Maghtab, fairly central and accessible, and with the vast area it comprises, has, so far, provided a convenient dumping ground for waste. Public waste dumping policy in this field was further abetted by the fact that Maghtab's population was always limited, widely scattered and lacked political clout. But we happen to live here; we cherish our neck of the woods. And I do not think we can, for one minute, accept the PM's claim of not so long ago, that the site selected for the "new engineered landfill" is of no importance.

Tiny as we are, all land in Malta is important. And the new landfill will gobble up quite a chunk. I do not think the PM had EU Article 54 in mind when he made his recent declaration about the site. The article states quite categorically: "...exhaustion of land and elements of land... shall be prohibited by law."

For the benefit of the unenlightened who may accept the latest statements from the top man himself, at the moment, from where I live I can see it is very much open. The entrance has been shifted further up the hill; fancy saffron lights now illuminate the scene; a huge plateau halfway up has been scraped flat and the shifted material has made the mountain even higher.

Lorries of all shapes and sizes come and go for the best part of the day; a number of skips close to the entrance still accept bulky stuff people cart along for disposal. The bulldozers and cranes shuttle back and forth - the place is a hive of activity. This is the current scenario of the temporary landfill which has also to host Gozo's waste.

In addition, Maghtab mizbla, or call it Ta' Zwejra, to keep our Minister happy, still provides an excellent breeding ground for flies and rats. Like Gozo's mizbla, the one at Maghtab produces rodents. This problem has to be addressed and fast. In our bucolic lives, we had got used to both the black Rattus rattus and the brown Rattus norvegicus. But just recently I noticed a different variety - a rat with a silver grey back and pure white belly and legs. I wonder if this is Rattus gaudisiensis? Perhaps Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, who recently inspected the dump, can bear me out on this.

My vision of a rehabilitated mizbla can come true if a two-fold solution to Maghtab and Malta's waste management problem is adopted. This solution envisages incineration of waste and land reclamation. Doubtless this suggestion will be attacked by all those whose chief interest is to see that the mizbla - or landfill, to use the trendy nomenclature - remains.

However, it is certainly my intention not to be drawn into polemics. I feel my brief is to create a public awareness to the solutions available, and perhaps to establish a pragmatic platform for fresh debate. The newly reconstituted Maghtab Residents' Association will take up the cudgels, and if necessary, seek redress in Brussels.

Along with waste separation - and of course reducing, reusing and recycling waste - incineration would neatly solve our problems. If we cannot cope with our waste locally, we could always export it. This practice does happen within the EU. For example, the Campania region of Italy, faced with a waste management problem of huge proportions, packs the stuff (unseparated) in nylon bags similar to those used for bulk transport of cement and sends it by train to Germany for incineration.

Using ultra-modern incineration technology, the Germans dispose of Campania's waste. The heat generated by the incineration process is fed into the turbines of a small, adjacent power station to produce electricity. This is perfectly in keeping with EU Waste Incineration Directive (WID) 2000/76/EEC, Article 6 concerning recovery of heat - "any heat generated by the incineration or the co-incineration process shall be recovered as far as practicable."

The resultant ash and lava-like clinker are recycled. The latter is used in the manufacture of building blocks and in road making. Article 9 states that "residues... shall be recycled where appropriate..." More importantly, the incinerator occupies the space of a medium-sized factory and employs around 50 people. In Malta, this process could easily happen in Hal Far or in one of the disused quarries which have now become extremely valuable real estate. Some of these are currently used to store building waste.

Significantly, there are families living cheek by jowl to EU incinerators, now in operation for many decades. The health of these families has been closely monitored and nothing untoward has emerged. Incidentally, in spite of being exposed to so much dust, smoke and indiscriminate dumping over more than two decades, Maghtab, Salina and Bahar ic- Caghaq residents have never had any health screening. I am sure that many readers will retain dramatic images of Mount Maghtab ablaze for days on end, with thick smoke spreading far and wide and inhaled by all and sundry in the area.

In contrast, incinerators in the EU, because of stringent regulations, hardly produce any emissions. I look at the chimneys of St Luke's Hospital and Marsa power station and shake my head in disgust. There are many happy, healthy families living close to these EU incinerators. Possibly their happiness stems from the fact that they acquired their properties fairly cheaply because of the location, and they know their health is in no danger. Unfortunately, one cannot say the same for the families living near Marsa power station and St Luke's.

We can also take a leaf out of the UK code of practice for power stations and hospital and waste incinerators. They are neither unsightly nor do they produce harmful emissions. We can go further and emulate UK's little known policy of waste incineration. It may come as a surprise to many, but the UK, too, incinerates much of its waste, and obviously conforms to EU regulations.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) however, advises local councils how best to adopt these regulations. So one will perhaps find one county using incineration technology different from that of its neighbour; but all conform to strict EU regulations. For the benefit of the unenlightened, the latest incinerators available do not even use gas or fossil fuels - they use microwave technology.

Lithuania, a new EU member like Malta, appears to be contemplating waste incineration. Its particular situation will be governed by a relative Council Directive which will reflect EU regulations on incineration. Malta, too, would have its guidelines.

So what is stopping Malta from following the rest of the EU and incorporating incineration in its waste management policy? One does not have to go far for the answers. For a number of reasons Malta always seems to go for the more complicated solutions to its motley problems. However, the bigger the project is, the more people will be involved. And nobody is in the game for patriotic reasons.

Other considerations apart, the logic behind a "managed landfill" is still baffling and elusive. It emerged from a recent parliamentary debate, that no decision has been taken as to whether to dig a hole or simply pile Malta's waste and create another mountain. However, the very term 'landfill' implies a cavity, natural or man-made. Seeing there is no handy hole at L-Ghallis ta' Gewwa, a massive one will have to be dug.

And where will the millions of tons of 'waste' go? I seem to remember a statement that the area identified for the new landfill comprises valuable material of some sort or other. And what guarantees are there that the landfill lining will not leach stuff into our precious water table? Everything points away from a landfill. Therefore, why not go for the simpler, much cheaper solution of incineration? Incinerators are easily available and come customised to meet the user's needs. We do know exactly how much waste we generate, down to the last ton. And the project will still generate jobs, keeping the big consortia busy.

But firstly, we do need to educate the populace at large not only on separation of waste, but, more importantly, on how to reduce, reuse and recycle. Very little has been achieved so far in this area simply because, we have been spoiled by daily refuse collections. In most of the EU, there are only weekly refuse collections. Eire has gone one step further - refuse collectors will only handle domestic waste that is sealed in special bags. These are obtainable - at a price - from the local shops.

The euros generated from the sale of these bags go to help finance Eire's waste management. However, locally, the mentality exists that as far as domestic and industrial waste, and environmental issues are concerned, only our pristine homes and work places matter. Any old carrier bag or cardboard box will do for waste. While awaiting removal, this reposes on our doorsteps, on corners or spewed untidily around skips and the recycling bins that have now started to appear.

All these considerations aside, the problem of Mount Maghtab and what to do with it will still be very much with us for some time to come. One can still ask when and how will the monster be levelled.

This leads to the second part of the Maghtab solution: land reclamation. We can do it using local expertise - or better still, to make sure the job is speedily and efficiently done, utilise foreign concerns. Past experience teaches us that we take forever, go way over budget, and, unfortunately, we usually botch whatever project we handle.

Land reclamation would also provide many jobs, if properly handled. In conection with the rehabilitation of Maghtab, in the past there were a number of proposals that featured land reclamation. One suggested using the material in the mizbla to create two marinas for small boats, one at Qalet Marku and the second at Bahar ic-Caghaq. The sea in both places is shallow enough to facilitate the depositing the stuff from Maghtab mizbla to create breakwaters. The area is conveniently close by, the sea is contaminated and unfit for swimming anyway. Boats do not mind the contamination.

The project would provide berthing and ancillary facilities for thousands of small boat owners who come from the lower income bracket. Because adequate slipways are so few and far between, one commonly sees small boats being trailered all over Malta. Time and distance mean that most small boat owners have to limit enjoyment of their hobby to the weekend, with a resultant congestion of the more popular, upgraded, slipways. If one has a boat safely berthed, one could take one's boat out far more frequently, especially with the long daylight hours of summer. Reasonable charges for use of facilities would, in the long run, partly offset the cost of the project.

The marinas, if one technique is used, would emulate Mgarr Harbour and Cirkewwa. However, one foreign suggestion incorporated the use of large, hollow, concrete cassions that straddle the seabed. The aim is not to disturb the seabed too much, and also to permit a certain amount of wave and current movement. This would minimise wear and tear by the relentless sea. Apparently, our solid Grand Harbour breakwater that rests on the seabed is suffering from wave damage.

Also, part of the Maghtab mizbla material could also be used to provide access to the foreshore all along the coast from St George's Bay to Qawra. While the sea in this part of Malta is a snorkelling paradise, the razor sharp rocks preclude access from land. While leaving the garigue largely virginal, paths, access roads, a decent promenade and levelled areas for parking, picnicking and other activities - tennis and volleyball come to mind - would attract many locals and tourists. One would obviously have to leave a large chunk for our military.

The firing ranges, if restored to their former glory, could be a money-making concern too. In fact, all over the EU one finds people queuing up to try their hand at driving - again, against payment - a big military truck or tank. Visitors to military establishments also pay to view gunnery practice. Some of the mizbla stuff, like precious old building stones and torba, would come in handy in this and other restoration projects.

Some environmentalists will no doubt object to any form of land reclamation. The claim will probably be that too much damage is caused to marine life. One may remember the outcry over Portomaso. The scars have now not only healed, but there is perhaps more marine activity than ever. Interestingly enough, I do not think there were protests when the local concerns created Msida, the Gzira/Sliema Strand, the cruise liner terminal in the Grand Harbour and so many other projects.

Land reclamation is practised all over the world. The new Hong Kong airport, on Lantau Island, sits on a reclaimed area that is half the size of Malta. The site is now largely lush greenery and the sea at the periphery of the reclaimed tract teems with fish.

The foregoing may perhaps sound simplistic. However, one has to proceed with caution with any land reclamation projects using mizbla material. With the indiscriminate dumping that went on for so many decades, there will no doubt be pockets which contain hazardous or contaminated material. There will have to be constant monitoring and safe removal and disposal of such stuff.

Having said all that, one might ask how the twin solutions to Maghtab mizbla and Malta's waste management will be financed? True, boat marinas and other facilities would generate a steady income. Similarly, one could charge for dumping waste from the construction industry near Maghtab and in special areas selected for land reclamation. Perhaps we will finally see an end to the indiscriminate dumping, by small contractors, of the odd one or two cubic metres of waste material in quiet lanes and village peripheries. But if the above proposals are properly presented to Brussels, the bulk of the financing could very well come from the EU.

Ironically, when Malta is strapped for cash, one still sees considerable Government spending. It seems that Malta's ailing economy can afford so many millions of liri for embassies and residences. If these should be downsized, the money saved could be diverted to our waste management crisis. Perhaps instead of the unacceptable eco tax, Government might actively consider these twin projects: incineration and land reclamation.