Marsa council files protest against proposed waste plant

The Marsa council filed a judicial protest claiming that the proposed waste treatment facility in the locality could lead to irreparable damage to the health of residents and the environment.

The local council filed the protest against WasteServ Malta Limited, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) and the health and environment ministers.

The Marsa council noted that, following an application filed in February 2006, Mepa issued a permit "to install an incineration unit and adjacent cold store within incineration site at public abattoir to meet EU standards".

While the council said it was not objecting to the modernisation of the facility, it noted that it was intended for waste generated from the abattoir.

The council was never approached to discuss the possibility of the facility being used for hospital waste and other toxic waste.

On hearing this, the council had filed an objection for the issue of the permit for the waste treatment facility.

Yet, despite the fact that the objection was still pending, Health Minister Louis Deguara was quoted, in various media, saying that the St Luke's Hospital incinerator was being closed and that medical waste would be treated at a new Marsa plant.

The council noted that Marsa was already afflicted by smog released from the abattoir and the industrial area and the waste treatment facility, as proposed, was going to add to the problems faced by residents.

The facility constituted a treat to the residents' health and to the environment in the area.

The council called on the authorities to take any necessary steps to ensure that the health and quality of life of Marsa residents was safeguarded.

Lawyers Aron Mifsud Bonnici and Abigail Galea signed the protest.