Nationalist EP candidate Alan Deidun has called for a mature debate about incineration rather than confrontation.
The government was consulting the top experts in the field and would eventually consult environmental NGOs, he said.
Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) or the energy derived from controlled combustion of waste, was considered as clean energy if preceded by waste separation.
“ Some argue that a pro-incineration culture is an indictment of government’s failure to implement the three R’s. A scenario in which waste generation is controlled would indeed be utopic, but decisions must be taken in the short term to address the ever increasing quantities of waste,” Dr Deidun said.
He said the PL should declare its position on the matter and not just react to the Marsaxlokk proposal, for political mileage purposes.
“If the PL is against incineration, can it at least state where would it locate the next engineered landfill? This question is legitimate since the proposed RDF facility would greatly extend the lifetime of the current engineered landfill which would otherwise be full to capacity within a few years, hence precluding the need to scar another agricultural area to excavate yet another engineered landfill.
“If the PL does not completely exclude incineration, where does it propose to site the RDF facility?”
He said this risked turning into yet another Sant’Antnin waste treatment facility saga, with the PL shooting down the proposal and failing to express itself on any alternatives.
“Predictably, the fears engendered in the Marsascala community by the PL on such a facility have not materialised and the issue has nowadays faded into oblivion,” he said.
Comments
While I fully respect and admire your work, I am truly mezmerised on the way you have attacked Alan. While you may not agree with what he's saying, I would have thought that as an environmentalist you would have chosen the constructive mode of criticism to voice your opposition for another environmentalist. Apart from that, Dr. Deidun is a biologist and has the expertise necessary to voice his opinions about the environment. Many people nowadays are talking as though they know best but few of them actually research or know what they are actually talking about.
Please come up with viable options to incineration and yes, I agree that a reduction in waste is needed but until the Maltese citizens opt for such a reduction, waste continue streaming into our landfills. I will truly appreciate your contribution as then, and only then, can you truly criticize Alan Deidun.
Your assessment of incineration is not fair since it makes no reference whatsoever to RDF. As to reducing the amount of waste generated, this would indeed be utopic but can be continue to survive on wishful thinking? I certainly did not tow the party line when it came to the Ghadira road, yacht marinas or Wied l-Ghasel issues.
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Given the arrogant way decisions are being taken,it comes as no surprise that the people of Marsaxlokk (and their political representatives) will mobilise themselves against these decisions-and rightly so.
Unfortunately,it seems that government has learnt nothing from the Sant-Antnin saga. I for one, was not against the upgrading of the Sant-Antnin Treatment Plant (how could I be? I was instrumental in the plant having an anaerobic-digestion process, having lobbied for this type of treatment since 2002), but it was very evident that the EIA process was seriously flawed, that it was a fait accompli that the plant was to be built there, and that the public consultation was a farce.
The current process for building an incinerator is no different. We are being duped into believing that an incinerator will solve our waste problems. Spending a hundred million euros in a very expensive end-of-pipe solution - without taking the necessary measures to reduce and recycle waste - will result in us having a far bigger problem on our hands.
If Alan wants a serious debate on the matter he should question the need for an incinerator and not echo government's propaganda.
As the self-styled environmental expert he is projecting himself to be, I would have expected Deidun to know that the most sustainable way of managing waste is to reduce waste and not generate more for burning.
And the most effective tool of reducing waste is through the proper application of the eco-tax (or eco-contribution) which his PN government completely messed up (so much so that PM Gonzi also admitted to the failure of this scheme).
It is big of Alan-Deidun-the-environmentalist to advocate end-of-pipe solutions when the cardinal rule in environmental management (as in anything else) is prevention rather cure. That's why incineration ranks so low in the waste hierarchy after Reduce, Re-use, Recycle....all of which have not yet taken off in Malta.
Alan Deidun's credibility as an independent opinionist and environmentalist is going up in smoke (pun intended) by the minute. And as a fellow environmentalist, this is sad, very sad.
He says" The government was consulting the top experts in the field and would eventually consult environmental NGOs". I love this.... who may these experts be, I ask? Does he include himself in the list of 'top experts'?
Has he now also been appointed as chairman of some government/PN (I cannot make a distinction) committee with the mandate of promoting incineration? - when the guy does not have a clue on the basics of waste management.
'Environmental NGOs will be called in 'eventually' i.e. when the decisions have already been taken. Such arrogance will inevitably lead to the confrontation which Deidun sees as being the action of partisan politics and not the legitimate right of people to be involved in the more important decisions that affect their lives.
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