8,000-signature petition presented to Mepa

Close to 8,000 signatures of people objecting to the recycling plant in Marsascala and pushing for the consideration of other areas in Malta away from the public, were presented to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) yesterday.

Marsascala mayor Charlot Mifsud said signatures were still pouring in for the petition against the plant, which would now be passed on to the relevant Mepa directorate.

The petition stated that other areas in Malta should be considered - and not only Marsacala - to come up with a suitable location that was furthest away from the public.

The application under scrutiny is for the demolition of the existing plant and its replacement with four new structures to accommodate a material recovery facility and mechanical treatment, digestion and composting plants.

The biggest bone of contention at the meeting, which turned into a heated debate, was the site selection process, which the Kumitat Kontra l-Impjant ghar-Riçikla©© Kif Propost maintained was flawed. Composed of the local councils of Marsascala, Zabbar and Zejtun, as well as a number of NGOs, it explained that Mepa had proposed smaller sites, based on the misinformation of the developer, WasteServ.

The initial stage of the process was flawed, they insisted, explaining that WasteServ had requested alternative sites of around 18,000 square metres when it was known that the area it needed was of 47,000 square metres.

The issue of alternative sites was a "joke", the committee said, adding that Mepa had accepted the situation, proposing areas in the outskirts of Birzebbugia, Kalkara and Ghallis, which were not of the appropriate size. Only the original Sant' Antnin site could contain the plant, while the other three were "useless", it said.

Mepa had never corrected the situation even though it had been misinformed, it continued, saying the authority had been taken for a ride.

An objection was also made regarding the planned construction of a road in Bulebel iz-Zghir in Zejtun, which was considered by the Zabbar mayor, Dominic Agius, to be one of the first negative results of the Marsacala plant.

On behalf of the residents, Mr Agius said the road led to the Sant' Antnin plant in Marsascala in accordance with the local plan for the south of Malta.

The objection was based on the fact that the road would mean the destruction of good fields, as well as that the area was the only "lung" of the locality.

During the debate, the mayors and the committee members told the authority chairman that they had not been consulted on the process and stressed that the Environment Impact Assessment was flawed.

Mepa chairman Andrew Calleja, however, insisted that the process was not over, that no conclusions had yet been reached on the recycling plant and that nothing had yet been accepted. The consultation process was part of the whole procedure and would be carried out shortly. He said the EIA was still being revised and finalised.

Four Marsascala voluntary organisations, including the Front Kontra L-Impjant tar-Riciklagg Kif Propost, the Moviment Favur il-Helsien tal-Maghluq, the Ghaqda Muzikali Sant' Anna and the Club tal-Bocci had last May complained to the Ombudsman about the demolition of the existing recycling plant and the reconstruction of four plants instead.

They said a leaflet distributed to every household in Marsascala by WasteServ and the Environment and Rural Affairs Ministry contained incorrect information and had requested the Ombudsman to investigate the matter and order a just remedy.

The Ombudsman, however, had informed the voluntary organisations that he had a conflict of interest in the matter since he lived in Marsascala for part of the year and could not, therefore, handle the investigations himself.

A temporary ombudsman was dealing with the case.