Expert to help monitor air quality

The Marsascala local council has accepted WasteServ’s invitation to appoint its own technical expert to help monitor air quality around the Sant’Antnin waste recycling plant.

Mayor Mario Calleja said the council was looking at this as a mitigation measure which would address residents’ concerns.

The council’s move comes in spite of the fact that the mayor chose not to attend the official launch of the newly upgraded plant on Thursday, arguing that it would have been inappropriate given that the council still had a pending court case over the planning permit issued for the plant’s upgrade.

However, hundreds of residents attended an event in the evening which was open to people living in the surrounding areas.

The Times reported yesterday that residents had boycotted the plant ceremony. However, they were not actually invited to the launch in the morning but to the ceremony in the evening hosted by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi which was well attended.

The front against the recycling plant had said residents would be sending their invitations back to the government but a spokesman for the Resources Ministry said it had only received one.

The mayor himself said he had been planning to attend until the previous evening but then decided not to, changing his mind overnight.

The €27 million upgrade, of which the EU forked out €16.7 million, will see organic waste being pre-treated through a mechanical process that removes the material to be rejected. It is then passed into an enclosed digestion plant where negative air pressure is pumped so any foul smells stay inside. Heat produced during this process will then be channelled from the plant to warm the nearby pool for disabled people at Inspire, which will save the centre €30,000.

Mr Calleja said the council still believes irregularities had taken place in the way the site was selected in 2004 and still had appeals before Mepa and the courts.

However, the ministry has consistently insisted there were absolutely no irregularities and pointed out that the European Parliament’s petitions’ committee refused to take up a call for an investigation, while the European Commission found no breach of EU law in the way the upgrade was handled.

In fact, the plant fulfils waste management obligations which Malta has with the EU.

One of the most contentious issues has been the fear that the plant, which developed a reputation for its odours in the past, would still emit a stench after the upgrade.

However, Mr Calleja yesterday said residents could put their minds at rest that the technical person to be appointed by the council would oversee the monitoring of air quality.

With regard to the proposed family park in Marsascala, on which work will start soon, the council is unanimously in favour. Meanwhile, Resources Minister George Pullicino accompanied students from the Marsascala school and others in neighbouring towns on a familiarisation visit ahead of an open weekend showcasing the new facility.