After successful testing, the Marsa incinerator will start operating today.

WasteServ will be responsible for its daily operation and management.

The plant will dispose of various waste streams through incineration including abattoir waste, clinical and other hazardous waste such as spent solvents and sludges. The plant is expected to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week for about 310 days a year.

Maintenance will be carried out in the remaining days.

A Wasteserv spokesman said that, given the critical importance of safety to operations onsite, extensive fire prevention and detection measures have been taken to reduce the risk of fire.

Measures to cut the risk include minimising quantities of waste to be stored on site, staff training, an automatic fire detection and alarm system and fire extinguishing equipment.

The incinerator will produce enough energy to be self-sufficient for power and to cater for 500 households.

Asked about any anticipated protests about the plant, the spokesman said public consultation had taken place but very few people had attended. NGOs were invited but did not participate.

The incineration of waste involves a number of steps. Different waste is brought to the site in appropriate containers and the bins are transferred to a large refrigerated room where they are kept until incineration.

Solvents and sludges are stored separately because they would be used as fuel.

Blood from the abattoir is stored in a separate cooled storage tank.

Hazardous wastes will be tested to determine their nature prior to burning and abattoir waste will be emptied into a shredder that grinds the waste before it enters the combustion chamber. Blood is disposed of directly into the feeding hopper.

Clinical waste bins bypass the grinding process and the bins are emptied mechanically into a receiving hopper that feeds directly to the incinerator.

Solvents and liquid sludges go directly into the burner of the primary combustion chamber from the refrigerated storage areas.

From the feeding hopper, waste is transferred to the primary combustion chamber, a large rotating drum where the waste is burned at 8,500°C.

Oxidation and deodorisation of the fumes coming from the primary combustion chamber are completed in the secondary combustion chamber, the spokesman explained.

The incinerator is fitted with a system for emission monitoring and management.

The results of the emissions monitoring will be available in real time, allowing the operator and entities such as Mepa to closely monitor the operation.