You would think that people would not take to the idea of visiting the Maghtab landfill, until recently the source of Malta's major environmental concern. But you would be wrong.

The open day yesterday was an absolute success, a good omen for the landfill's prospects of becoming a national park.

WasteServ said the event was heavily attended by the public. Families could be seen roaming around the site, taking advantage of the breathtaking views which can be enjoyed at the peak of the 'mount'.

Environment Minister George Pullicino also attended the open day. He announced that WasteServ will soon be opening the first two civic amenity sites - which will allow the public to bring and discard bulky waste - another step in its wider waste management strategy.

Works are well in progress for WasteServ to introduce all five civic amenity sites. One of the sites will be located at Maghtab itself and will be open in November, along with another one at Mriehel.

The other sites will be located in Hal Far, Hal Luqa - in the area which was used as a dump until 1979 - and in Xewkija, Gozo.

These centres will facilitate the separate disposal of bulky material such as appliances, electronics, furniture, waste from DIY activities, garden waste, clothes, waste oils and household hazardous waste such as solvents, neon tubes and paints.

Their aim is to establish a service to centralise the collection of separated waste and to therefore facilitate the recovery of secondary materials for recycling.

This project which includes the development of these centres, the introduction of more bring-in sites and the ongoing information campaign is being carried out with a budget of €4.6 million co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

WasteServ CEO, Vince Magri, thanked the public for their overwhelming response. He emphasised that this open day was an opportunity to experience change and to see the government's commitment to invest in waste management.

Over €8.5 million of EU funds have been allocated to the rehabilitation of the Maghtab dump, while a further Lm10 million were being invested for the development of the new Ghallis engineered landfill.

Visitors were guided by WasteServ officials who gave explanations on the development of the civic amenity site, the rehabilitation project of the closed Maghtab landfill, the engineering of the Ghallis facilities. A 3D animation showing the different projects was also displayed on site. Throughout the guided visits the importance of waste minimisation and recycling was emphasised throughout.

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