(Adds Wasteserv's reaction)

A terrible stench that was causing an inconvenience to residents was emanating from the Marsa abattoir, where animal waste from carcasses was piling up since the incinerator was currently undergoing maintenance.

Addressing a news conference outside the abattoir in Prince Albert Street this afternoon, Marsa mayor Francis Debono called on the authorities to do something about the smell.

The council, he said, received several complaints about the smell and as mayor he lodged a police report and visited the area with the police several time.

He was told that the incinerator was undergoing maintenance so waste from carcasses was not being burnt, it was piling up and was causing the stench.

Yesterday, the mayor said, he visited the site and saw skips full of animal intestines sitting outside the incinerator.

Moreover, freezers were the carcasses were supposed to be stored were set at 0 degrees celcius when they should be set between -45 to -35.

He criticised the authorities for failing to act in spite of their many promises and together with Labour MP Stephan Buontempo, he called on the govermment to do something about the issue.

Asked how come no one could smell the stench during the news conference, Mr Debono said the authorities knew about the conference and made sure the stench would not be there.

He criticised the Environmental Health Department for saying it could not do anything about the matter.

Dr Buontempo said it was absurd how residents were being treated. The authorities, he said, were not showing residents the respect they deserved.

WASTESERV'S REACTION

In a statement, Wasteserv said that it served that since December 2007, the incinerator has been treating animal waste for the benefit of health and the environment.

This incinerator, it said, was currently accepting 13 different types of waste as well as clinical and pharmaceutical. This led to the closure of the St Luke’s Hospital incinerator.

Such a plant required regular maintenance and for this it had to be stopped for a few days to cool down.

Wasteserv said it understood that the temporary stench of the stored waste could be an inconvenience to neighbours but it was not detrimental to health.

The waste was being stored in temporary cold stores close by until permanent ones were developed. Talks were currently being held with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority on a development masterplan to consolidate the cold storage provision.

Wasteserv was also doing its utmost to reduce the volume of animal waste requiring treatment at the plant.

The company noted that a monitor installed on the facade of the abbatoir continuously showed the emissions emanating from the plant.

The results, it said, were well under the EU limits and the gas coming out of the 26-metre chimney was clean and not detrimental to the environment.

Wasteserv apologised for the inconvenience and said it would be taking all precautions necessary to reduce the stench.