The government has recently published the final draft of a solid waste management strategy for the Maltese islands, paving the way forward for this important sector right up to 2015.
The Environment Report 2008 gives the amount of construction and demolition waste generated in 2006 as almost two and a half million tonnes, whereas municipal solid waste (MSW) generation amounted to about 250,000 tonnes, increasing by five per cent in 2007. Commercial and industrial waste also registered an increase in the same period, by 47 per cent, while hazardous waste, comprising materials such as spent batteries and accumulators, asbestos and waste oil remains, amounted to circa 53,600 tonnes in 2006.
Hazardous waste is stored at Għallis prior to export. About 80 per cent of the total waste generated in 2006 was landfilled, the rest being recycled, stored or exported.
Despite all the efforts and investments along the years, not to mention the Sant'Antnin plant and its fallout, the local waste management scenario remains complicated, indeed a tough nut to crack. For MSW alone, and taking baseline year 2005, EU business-as-usual projections are that for Malta this waste fraction is expected to increase by 60 per cent by 2020, compared to an envisaged EU increase of 25 per cent.
By European standards, the status of MSW generation, particularly on a per capita basis, is considered a principal indicator in assessing the extent to which a country manages its waste stream successfully. The government's proposed strategy comes at a time when the EU has adopted its revised Waste Framework Directive, 2008/98/EC, through which member states are further empowered to impose "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" penalties to ensure that the provisions in the directive are implemented.
Crucial to the argument on MSW management is article 5 of the Landfill Directive, 1999/31/EC as amended, setting definite targets aimed at cutting the amount of biodegradable municipal solid waste that ultimately goes to landfill and which are also specified in appendix A of the strategy itself. Legal technicalities aside, it seems that Malta is quite off the mark in meeting these requirements. Or, at least, given the increase in MSW generation per capita figures quoted in the Environment Report 2008, we are clearly moving at a tangent from what is expected under EU law. Quite a paradox given that the same report also states that 60 per cent of total environmental expenditure in 2007 went on solid waste management alone, mostly modernised landfill infrastructure and waste recycling facilities.
The key to Malta's way forward in implementing a solid waste management strategy in line with EU requirements perhaps lies in a sentence on page 39 of the waste strategy itself whereby it is stated: "Government will commission work to ensure that Malta moves towards meeting its targets for renewable energy sources (RES) from the treatment of solid waste." This makes it more clear than ever that waste-to-energy processes shall prove fundamental in the immediate future to ascertain that Malta achieves its 10 per cent renewable energy target as stipulated under EU law.
The government's strategy envisages investment in "a combination of additional MBT [mechanical biological treatment] plants and increased incineration capacity" and this within a 2015 framework. MBT is the process through which biodegradable waste fractions are treated under oxygen-deficient conditions to yield biogas, which is then used for electricity generation purposes. This should be already taking place at Sant'Antnin in conjunction with the Magħtab rehabilitation project.
Lessons must have been learnt from the Sant'Antnin plant saga and the strategy adopts a regional approach to waste management. However, specific site selection for other waste treatment plants similar to Sant'Antnin should still be expected to prove to be yet another thorny issue.
Proper site selection assessments may still need to be carried out but the strategy already earmarks the Għallis site for a second MBT plant facility together with a third smaller similar plant in Gozo at Tal-Kus. Siġġiewi has also been identified as a potential site for a fourth digestion facility intended for manure treatment purposes.
With regard to incineration, the strategy states that, irrespective of a previous report recommending Delimara as a suitable site for the development of a mass-burn incinerator, a proper site selection process shall be commissioned to "determine the most suitable site" for such a facility. Preserving the integrity of Malta's environmental planning process requires that the government's preferred or recommended options do not necessarily entail a fait accompli.
Despite all efforts to ensure transparency in delicate matters the public perceives, rightly or wrongly, as undesirable facilities close to its doorstep, implementing the proposed solid waste strategy shall not be a piece of cake. The government, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, WasteServ and the public have to work together to transform the strategy into a success story. The public needs to realise there is an urgent need to develop waste treatment infrastructure, which is essential not just to satisfy the requisites of EU law but also in view of the waste crisis Malta may have to endure as a price for complacency.
On its part, Mepa is expected to lead by example and ensure transparency throughout the process, having the scientific studies involved rigorously evaluated by all those directly engaged in ultimate decision making.
The government, on the other hand, is expected to shoulder its responsibilities and, apart from scrutinising Mepa's modus operandi, it should act as driving force in having the strategy implemented. Continuous consultation with local councils should be an effective tool. Most of all, however, it must be ascertained that public health issues are not sidelined or set on the back-burner, especially when it comes to incineration.
Having this solid waste management strategy implemented within the stipulated timeframes shall be indicative as to whether Malta is living up to the expectations as a fully committed, modern and forward-looking EU member state, a status it deserves.
sapulis@gmail.com
The author specialises in environmental management.