Long-term environmental management

Environment Minister George Pullicino seems uncomfortable with the fact that the Labour Party has a comprehensive environmental policy document, Ambjent b'Sahhtu ghal Sahhitna (A healthy environment benefits our health) based on the long-term principles of sustainable development, containment of waste pollution by regionalisation and use of renewable energy sources, while rationalising the use of non-renewable resources. The minister also finds it pointless that in my arguments I refer to this document, concluding that such a document cannot offer solutions (May 14).

If subscribing to a policy document is so futile to the Minister of the Environment then why has the Ministry for the Environment this year squandered over Lm700,000 on consultants commissioned to produce more reports and policies for the government? Mr Pullicino is already equipped with a government policy document on waste called A Solid Waste Management Strategy for the Maltese Islands. However, he seldom refers to it. Instead, he chooses to improvise his policies on an ad hoc basis and covers up his errors by playing with words. This modus operandi has resulted in a ubiquitous environmental disaster.

Another outrageous deceitful play with words made in the past few months concerns the Ta' Zwejra site, adjacent to Maghtab. When this waste disposal site was opened on May 1 last year, it was already being described by Mr Pullicino and Wasteserv as a "temporary waste storage facility" (The Malta Independent, April 23, 2004) in service for one year after which its wastes are to be transported to a "permanent" site at Ghallis. However, Mr Pullicino has recently unilaterally decided to change the status of Ta' Zwejra and has started calling this temporary site as a permanent "engineered landfill"! In the eyes of the EU directive on landfills and on every practical level the difference between a temporary waste storage site and an engineered landfill is considerable.

The minister's dangerous play with words not only tarnishes his credibility but also breaches Maltese and European environmental legislation, which stipulates that a temporary waste storage site has to be completely cleared at least after three years of its opening. This will not happen as confirmed by the Prime Minister who visited the "landfill" at Ta' Zwejra to announce that methane gas production will peak after four years, well beyond the time stipulated for temporary sites.

More imminent is Mr Pullicino's volte face concerning waste incineration. It should be recalled that a few years ago the waste incineration option was rejected by local NGOs. Ultimately, it was discarded by the Solid Waste Management Strategy for the Maltese Islands. Now, the spectre of incinerating waste on a large scale is looming again. Let's see how the government will play with words to justify the U-turn leading to this dangerous option for waste disposal.

Admittedly, Mr Pullicino publicly refers to his misdemeanors in waste management as a "learning process", although we know it is the taxpayer who always has to pay for the mistakes and madcap projects of this slow learner. One of these madcap projects is the proposed installation of gas wells to extract gas from Maghtab landfill, even though it is known that there is little methane gas worth capturing from this old landfill.

The tender document issued by Wasteserv for these gas wells does not include the capping of the landfill, although capping is an EU requirement for closing of landfills like Maghtab. However, Mr Pullicino (May 14) justifies this topsy-turvy approach by claiming that capping will be done after the installation of the gas wells! This will be technically unattainable.

Once again, I challenge the minister to prove whether the proposed expensive gas extraction system is really a priority. If not, he should investigate the possibility that it was subjectively selected by someone for personal benefit. Significantly, the drawings of the gas wells in the tender document bear the Scott Wilson logo!

Scott Wilson was commissioned to produce a report that studies solutions for landfills in this country. This report was the first phase of the landfills project. The next phase was the tendering process, which was supposed to be independent of the first phase to guarantee objectivity. In reality, this has not happened. In addition, the report's validity is in doubt, namely because it "solved" several of the landfill's environmental problems by listing dubious data on the quality of ground water at Maghtab and the quality of coastal sediments in its vicinity, which data makes the ground water and coastal sediments seem pristine clean.

For those who remain skeptical about Maghtab's immaculate environment, Mr Pullicino may want to perform his customary swimming ritual to show spectators and journalists he is having a whale of a time in the waters of Maghtab's contaminated bays, which now have been miraculously deemed to be cleansed!

In his article (May 14) the minister declares that "we should all get behind a solution and strive for its completion". Labour can never "get behind" the contrived solutions being proposed by this incompetent government that deceives people by playing with words. In any case, the PN administration is not even in a position to lead others because the grey matter of human resources in government departments and authorities have long been sterilised by the obsessive purges intended to oust anyone (including experts) showing the slightest dissent to the government's madcap schemes in environmental management.

Malta needs to evolve from the present style of environmental management based on the minister's ad hoc decision-making which only leads to contradictory results that are later veiled by a play of words. Labour believes in a new style of management for environmental problems that pursues long-term policies that lead to attainable results.

Mr Mizzi, MP, is the Labour Party's main spokesman for infrastructural services.