Zejtun council clarifies action over recycling plant

The Zejtun local council was not attempting to block EU funds in connection with the Sant'Antnin waste recycling plant but it did not wish such money to be utilised to cause health and environmental hazards, Zejtun mayor Joe Attard said yesterday.

Reacting to a story that appeared in The Times yesterday, Mr Attard said a letter sent to EU Environment Commissioner Stravos Dimas was meant to alert the EU institutions that EU funds were being channelled into a harmful project.

Malta is entitled to €17 million (Lm7.3 million) in cohesion funds to upgrade the Sant'Antnin plant.

The letter, which was also sent to all the members of the environment committee in the European Parliament, said that the committee was the appropriate forum "where this matter should be brought up and the necessary action taken so that EU funds will not be utilised to cause health and environmental hazards to European citizens".

"The letter was sent on January 10 and we had told the local media what we were doing. Many did not consider this news value and now that Brussels in looking into the matter it is suddenly news value," Mr Attard said.

He said a copy of the letter was not sent to MEP David Casa, a substitute member of the environment committee, because it was only sent to committee members, not to substitutes.

"But if he wants to join us, he is more than welcome," Mr Attard said.

The mayor said everyone had to deal with the waste problem and the council was not shedding its responsibility. "We want to be part of the project but we have to be taken into trust. We do not look at this from a political point of view. We want to help to solve this national issue. Waste has no political colour.

"There is a big difference between saying EU funds should be used to harm people's health and that we do not want EU funds or that we are trying to block such funds. We are objecting to a project that will be implemented through these EU funds and that will be harmful to Zejtun residents. Funds should not be used to cause health and environmental hazards. And one of the aims why the council is here is to protect residents," Mr Attard said.

Mr Attard said the Zejtun council wanted to help Wasteserv but, strangely enough, while the council was consulted about the Ghallis landfill it was not approached about something located right at its doorstep. "The truth is not being said about the waste recycling plant here. We are there to play ball but we have to know the truth," Mr Attard said.

Contacted for his reactions, Environment Minister George Pullicino said the EU funds cannot be frozen. "The government has to provide invoices to the Commission end October 2007. Money will be lost and will go to other countries and not to other projects in Malta unless it is used."

Mr Pullicino said the government gave the Commission its reaction to the letter.

"This is not a new project but a plant that is licensed to take 83,000 tons of waste and will process 71,000. We want to upgrade it for three reasons: we want the work to be done in a closed environment; we want the standard of compost to be better and we want to get some energy from the waste.

"In its document of October 2002, the Malta Labour Party said clearly that because of the improvements the Labour administration had carried out to the plant between 1996 and 1998 it now has no impact. We do not agree and want to minimise impact much further. An environment impact assessment was held and public consultation is taking place. We cannot keep looking back but have to move ahead," Mr Pullicino said.