A pit at the Mosta cemetery, regularly used for the open-air combustion of mixed waste, has been dismantled by the public health department following residents’ complaints of hazardous smoke.
The structure resembled barbecues commonly set up at private homes on hot summer nights, except the one at the cemetery was openly burning mixed waste, including plastics and metals resulting in a cocktail of harmful chemical substances in the air.
The smoke irritated residents in one of the country’s most densely populated areas, particularly on February 7, when the fire was lit in the early hours of the morning. It persisted into the afternoon, even through a light drizzle, until residents had enough and filed a report with the police.
The fire was extinguished at about 4.30pm, about an hour after residents made the calls to the police. Yet the burn pit remained there, even though the police are empowered to take action according to the Code of Police laws.
The Code states: “It shall not be lawful… to construct or make use of any oven, hearth, or forge, in any place from which, owing to the absence of a chimney for the emission of the smoke onto the roof of the building, such smoke might pass into the street or into a neighbouring house, or to use such oven, hearth or forge in such a way as to cause a nuisance or annoyance to the neighbours.”
The open burning of mixed waste is an environmentallyunacceptable process generating hazardous chemicals and other pollutants that are products of incomplete combustion
Times of Malta pursued the matter with relevant authorities until the public health ministry intervened to immediately stop any further burning of waste.
When this newspaper checked into whether the structure had been dismantled, workers were sent the next day to clear it out.
When residents called this newspaper, they said there was a chemical stench all day.
The open burning of mixed waste is an environmentally unacceptable process that generates hazardous chemicals and numerous other pollutants that are products of incomplete combustion, according to scientists. Health officials say smoke and unpleasant odours always accompany open burning. They are a nuisance and can be a health hazard. The chemicals are unsafe to breathe and can contaminate food supplies.
The firepit at the Mosta cemetery.