WasteServ defends Sant'Antnin project

WasteServ, the company that runs the Sant'Antnin recycling plant in Marsascala, said the facility will be upgraded and not demolished, as claimed by the Front Against the Recycling Plant at Sant'Antnin and the Zabbar local council.

Wasteserv said a total of €16.7 million in European Union cohesion funds have been allocated for the modernisation of the plant. This would improve the operational and environmental conditions of the site as most of the works will be conducted in a closed environment, it said.

The proposed upgrading includes the installation of a materials recycling facility capable of sorting 36,000 tonnes of separately collected recyclables per annum, a digestion plant that will treat 35,000 tonnes of separately collected biodegradable waste and a modular composting plant that will produce compost following the digesting process.

"The proposed upgrading is expected to lead to an improvement in the environmental, social and economic impacts experienced from the operations of the current plant. This investment will also ameliorate the present percentages of recovered materials from the general waste stream.

It said the environment impact assessment (EIA) has been drafted and presented to Mepa and all issues of concern raised in the public consultation process are being included in the detailed design and tendering process for the facility.

With regard to the Front's and the Zabbar council's concerns about the increase in traffic, Wasteserv said the EIA stipulates that the increase will be minimal and consequently absorbed without added inconvenience. The preferred route the EIA identifies is route 24. From there, vehicles will enter the Marsascala bypass leading to the plant. Following the public consultation, other routes are being assessed too, it said.

WasteServ said it would like to confirm that unlike what happened now, the upgrading project would involve processes being carried out within a closed environment, "hence all nuisances will be further reduced".