Footprint reduced 'to lessen tourism impact'

Designs of the proposed Ghallis landfill were changed to reduce the impact on the Coastline Hotel and the Qawra tourist area, according to the recently drafted environment impact statement.

The same EIS, however, says "the remainder of the project areas may be developed at some stage in the future".

Though it had been declared government policy that a new engineered landfill at Ghallis ta' Gewwa would have a 20-year lifetime, the EIS drawn up by AIS Environmental and SLR Consultants revealed that the domestic waste facility would be filled up within seven years since its commissioning at a filling rate of 250,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Only the hazardous waste facility would serve for 20 years since the rate at which this kind of waste is generated is 5,000 cubic metres per day.

A close look at the EIS shows that the landfill's lifespan has been considerably reduced even because the height of the landfill - originally aimed at 30 metres above the maximum ground level - was slashed to reduce the visual impact.

The EIS says that the footprint had been "roughly halved" and was being placed closer to the old Maghtab landfill to move the initial site further from a rabbit farm, Qawra and the Coastline, owned by Island Hotels.

But this did not seem to convince Island Hotels owner Winston Zahra Sr who said during a public meeting on Wednesday that the development, amid a prime tourist zone with 40 per cent of all Malta's bedding, "would be a disaster".

"We need to have smaller landfills around the island and not concentrate everything in one area. We should set up incinerators and reclaim land," Mr Zahra argued.

The veteran hotelier was promptly reminded by WasteServ chairman Nick de Giorgio that he could raise his suggestions at other forums as the landfill had been the government's decision and WasteServ was simply the operator.

Mr Zahra then said Island Hotels reserved the right to take all necessary steps to prevent the project from happening. "We employ a lot of people who are like a family to us and we will not allow jobs to be jeopardised," he said.

Objections were also raised by representatives of the Suncrest Hotel who said the Maghtab landfill had been a great inconvenience over the past decades due to the foul smells it emitted. They said they often had to compensate clients because of the inconvenience.

Though the landfill will cover a smaller footprint than was initially intended, the EIS states that the section receiving domestic waste "could be extended to achieve a 20-year capacity facility".

Another issue raised during a series of public consultation meetings at the Naxxar oratory on Wednesday was access to the new landfill.

The EIS states that the 325 refuse collection trucks and hard rock lorries servicing the landfill daily would pass through the existing entrance to the Maghtab landfill.

The Maghtab Residents' Association, however, said they would fight tooth and nail against the idea that lorries use their hamlet's roads, claiming these had already been battered by years of activity. Today, 274 trucks drive by their houses carrying waste to the Ta' Zwejra landfill every day.

They said that lorries should be made to pass through the Salina Coast Road, adding that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had "understood" their objections and "agreed" with their proposal.

The residents said the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) also agreed.

Mr de Giorgio, who said WasteServ knew about the ADT's stand, claimed there should not be a problem to consider this option once the government approved it.

The issue of access to the landfill and road use was also raised by Naxxar mayor Maria Deguara, who insisted that a financial guarantee to make up for the roads damaged by lorries should be embedded in the contract.

A medical doctor by profession, Dr Deguara said WasteServ should be cautious in using deodorisers which, foreign research showed, could contain teratogens - hazardous substances which cause birth defects.

WasteServ plans to spray chemical solutions to reduce smells and so that less dust may be blown off the landfill surface.

WasteServ chief executive officer Vince Magri assured the mayor all precautions would be taken so that no hazardous chemical would be used.