The committee fighting the Marsascala waste recycling plant has called for an inquiry, following confirmed reports that dog carcasses are being dumped at the Sant'Antnin waste recycling plant.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the committee's chairman Darren Marmarà said the Environment Minister could not sit on the fence on this one, demanding that an inquiry be called.

The government's waste management agency, Wasteserv, confirmed reports which first appeared in the Labour Party's media, that dog carcasses were being taken to the Sant'Antnin plant to be disposed of.

The dogs, according to the same reports, were coming from the SPCA, which took the carcasses there after putting the animals down.

The society was reported to have confirmed that it had been taking the dead dogs to Marsascala, saying that it had been told to do so by Wasteserv.

The company said that it plans to have such waste treated at Marsa, where a new incinerator is meant to replace an old, decommissioned unit.

However, the committee insisted that this was no excuse.

"This confirms our worst fears about the plant," committee secretary Joe Sant said.

"We just don't find it acceptable that Sant'Antnin should be used as an alternative to incineration."

Given that the incinerator is expected to be up and running soon, Wasteserv said yesterday, the carcasses will be kept in a freezer and incinerated as soon as the new unit starts functioning.

The fact of the matter, Mr Sant insisted, was that Wasteserv had not been granted a permit to treat such waste at Marsascala but was doing so anyway.

"What about the health hazard from this biological waste?"

On this point, The Times contacted the health department, which said that it would look into the questions put forward.

The health-related hazards posed by the plant are a sore point for the committee, since it had lobbied unsuccessfully for a health study to be carried out before the plant was given the go-ahead by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.