Construction waste concern

Malta generated 48 per cent more waste in 2010 than in the previous year, with a spike in construction waste being the main culprit.

Construction can begin a few years after a permit is issued, and the result is that its waste takes time to appear

Trucks dumped 400,000 tonnes more construction waste that year than in 2009, overwhelming otherwise encouraging drops in municipal and hazardous waste totals.

The increase, revealed yesterday as part of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s 2010-2011 environmental indicators, was down to the glut of development permits issued in previous years, Mepa chairman Austin Walker explained.

“Construction can begin a few years after a permit is issued, and the result is that its waste takes time to appear,” he said.

The number of housing unit permits issued by the planning authority has been steadily declining over the past years, with just under 4,000 issued in 2011, compared to 2007’s all-time high of 11,000.

But while the Maltese are building fewer houses, their thirst for cars remains unquenched, with some 7,000 more on the roads in 2011 than the previous year.

Motoring mania took its toll on air quality, with EU limits for particulate matter exceeded on several days in 2011, most notably in traffic-choked Msida.

More positively, levels of sulphur dioxide and benzene – both dangerous pollutants – continued to decline and remained well below EU critical levels.

While the country generated 2.6 per cent more electricity last year than it did in 2010, the indicators show the economy is gradually becoming less energy-intensive. In effect, this means Malta is using up less fuel for every €1 it generates for GDP.

Environment minister Mario de Marco said the indicators showed there was more to do to reduce the environmental impact of motor vehicles.

“Malta not only has the highest number of cars for every person in Europe, but also the oldest car fleet in the EU.

“We’ve now got cleaner buses and that will help, but it’s of concern that 60 per cent of cars bought last year were second-hand,” he said.

He felt there should be more car pooling and encouraged local councils to create traffic-free zones within town centres.

“We’re often too afraid of closing off squares to traffic,” the minister complained. “Why can’t we have car-free village cores?”

Mepa’s indicators reaffirmed already-known concerns about excessive nitrate levels within Maltese groundwater supplies, with 11 out of 15 aquifers having nitrate levels higher than EU limits. Chloride concentrations in groundwater were also cause for concern, with the Pwales coastal aquifer recording a hefty 28.4 per cent increase in chloride levels compared to 2010.

Malta’s bathing waters continue to be of excellent quality, with just two of 87 bathing sites not classified as “excellent” under the EU’s Bathing Water Directive.

The encouraging news was proof the government’s investment in treating all sewage water was bearing fruit, Dr de Marco noted.

Although currently treated sewage water is discharged into the sea, tests are underway to see whether such water could be used in agriculture or to recharge rapidly diminishing ground-water supplies.

There was also a thumbs-up for government environment spending, which in 2010 rose by 30 per cent on the previous year to reach €130 million – five per cent of all government spending.

Dr de Marco was keen to point out that the increase was not a one-off, with public expenditure on the environment having more than doubled since 2004.