The Environment Ministry is insisting that the new Lm4 million incinerator will eventually be fully utilised.

A spokesman told The Times the investment at the Marsa abattoir was carried out according to estimates made in March 2003 by the Veterinary Services Division based on the type of waste that could be treated in the facility.

Labour MEP Joseph Muscat last week commented in his weekly article in The Times on some of the findings of a report drawn up by the Working Group On The Treatment Of Clinical Waste.

The report says that the incinerator's surplus capacity (36 per cent) will render the plant extremely inefficient to operate unless additional waste streams are treated.

Malta does not have any authorised facilities for the treatment of clinical waste, and healthcare waste from St Luke's Hospital is being incinerated with equipment that does not comply with EU legislation.

Ministry spokesman Ray Bezzina explained that the specifications of the Marsa incinerator were based on projections made in 2003, which required 12,600 tonnes of agricultural waste to be incinerated. Estimates were based on waste generated from activities relating to the breeding of pork, cattle, poultry, rabbit and fish. Other waste streams included airport waste.

WasteServ, the government's waste company, was not involved in the procurement of the plant, Mr Bezzina said.

Construction works on the new abattoir plant have just been completed.

Without the possibility to treat further waste streams it is estimated that the government would incur an annual loss of Lm2.4 million to incinerate animal waste on its own.

Mr Bezzina said the government was drawing up a comprehensive plan to incinerate waste at the abattoir, including industrial, clinical and pharmaceutical waste and animal carcasses. Such potential is being researched given the plant's 4,000-tonne spare capacity and with the aim of reducing fuel costs due to the calorific values of the new waste to be accepted. The plan will be finalised and communicated once the financial evaluation is carried out.

Studies have shown that over 16,000 tonnes of waste can actually be incinerated, including 6,600 of industrial sludges and liquids.

However, the incinerator will need an upgrade at a cost of Lm775,000 to be able to treat other waste, say of an industrial and clinical nature.

Mr Bezzina explained that the new plant would have surplus capacity mainly because of a drastic drop in poultry waste since the initial estimates were made in 2003. Investment and good practice at private slaughter houses and restructuring in the sector, meant that the waste generated by the industry plummeted from a projected 6,000 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes per annum.

Kitchen waste from hospitals was also initially projected to be incinerated but this is not a mandatory requirement and other treatment options are more cost effective given today's new waste management infrastructure.

The closing down of the St Luke's Hospital incinerator was a national priority and the availability of the abattoir facility offered the only "viable option" to achieve this in the short term. Besides, shifting the entire service to the Marsa abattoir would mean that the new Mater Dei Hospital would not need an incinerator, the authorities say.

The co-incineration of industrial waste was required not only to secure revenue for the facility but to also make it economically feasible.

However, Mr Bezzina admitted that some industry operators were still reluctant to work hand in hand with the government to try and cut hazardous waste and in the process maximise the use of the incinerator.

"We need to address everybody - from the car mechanic to the carpenter. Malta will enact rules and regulations and enforce them in line with all the relevant obligations as per our status as an EU member state," he said. The private sector may still decided to invest in its own incineration facilities and Mr Bezzina said the government is willing to explore public-private partnership possibilities.

On the running costs, Mr Bezzina said Wasteserv could provide material of high calorific value for incineration, which would drive costs down.

"Ultimately though, the cheapest way of doing things is the way we did before we closed down the dumps. New waste management strategies cost money."

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