An investment of over €100 million is planned for an incinerator at Delimara, together with another €55 million on two pre-treatment plants, one in Ghallis and another in Gozo.

The plants will handle most of the country's non-separated rubbish, converting it into energy, as much as five per cent of the country's needs when considering gas extraction from landfills, according to government estimates.

According to the first update of the country's 2001 waste management strategy, launched by the Resources Ministry for public consultation yesterday, the new investment should reduce the volume of waste going to the engineered landfill at Ghallis, although some five per cent of municipal waste will still need to be landfilled. The objective is to extend the projected lifespan of the landfill by an additional 10 years, to 2023.

The strategy is based on three principles: the reduction of the volume of waste through treatment, energy recovery and producer responsibility.

It was unveiled during a press conference at the Sant'Antnin recycling plant in Marsascala, which, according to ministry's permanent secretary, Chris Ciantar, symbolises the radical change the country has made in waste management.

Resources Minister George Pullicino said the government was so confident in the successful running of the plant that it would be moving the WasteServ offices to its administrative building.

The minister said that unless the strategy was implemented, the government would have no choice but to apply to the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority for a new landfill by June this year, which should be running by 2013.

At present, one third of municipal waste - estimated to be between 210,000 and 250,000 tonnes - is being treated through existing facilities. The remaining two-thirds of municipal waste, being dumped at the engineered landfill, is expected to be treated at the new €45 million Ghallis plant.

But the government is hoping that the amount of waste dumped into the landfill is drastically reduced through different measures, including a hefty increase in the gate fee, from the current €0.77 to €20 per tonne, which will increase to €30 over three years.

This will affect local councils but the government is not recommending that the financial burden is passed on to consumers. Instead, councils will have an increase in funding and be able to use any savings made by decreasing their waste tonnage for other projects. In fact, recyclable waste is charged at €2 per tonne.

It is expected that 20 per cent of the waste stream will be diverted to the new incinerator close to the Delimara power station once this is commissioned. Dr Ciantar explained that the plant will treat unrecyclable waste which can, however, be turned into refuse-derived fuel.

This will largely be achieved through the capturing of gases from the Maghtab dumpsite, the Ghallis landfill, the Ta' Zwejra landfill, the recycling plant at Sant'Antnin and the proposed incinerator, according to the Resources Ministry.

At the moment, 40,000 cubic metres of gases are extracted from the site that still has fires raging at its core. The aim is convert this into energy that would be fed into the national grid.

So far, €8.4 million have been spent on the rehabilitation of the Maghtab dumpsite. A further €30 million is projected as expenditure on the extraction of gases, which is necessary for at least another 20 years.

Hazardous waste is being diverted to the existing incinerator at Marsa. No information was provided on the disposal of the toxic substances resulting from this incinerator. The only hazardous waste disposal facility at the Ghallis landfill, which has a limited capacity of 100,000 cubic metres, is still awaiting a permit to commence operations.

The strategy states that "given the lack of reliable data in hazardous waste arisings, this project component will, to some extent, have to evolve in response to actual needs and experience".

The learning process required with the management of hazardous waste will have to incorporate the toxic waste that would be generated by the incinerator at Delimara; it is expected that the contract will be awarded in 2011.

The strategy is available on www.wastestrategy.gov.mt and is open to public consultation for eight weeks.