The Magħtab landfill rehabilitation project was extended to cover the entire site, Environment Minister Leo Brincat said yesterday.
“We have reworked the project, as there were areas which weren’t covered by the original rehabilitation plan and were going to be left without landscaping. This was possible through significant savings made,” Mr Brincat told the Times of Malta.
He was speaking to this newspaper during a courtesy visit to the Sant Antnin Waste Treatment Plant yesterday.
The original rehabilitation of the landfill site included the formation and capping of slopes to seal in the waste material, digging of passageways known as benches and the construction of some 4km of rubble walls – all of which left the landfill covered in what appeared to be white building debris.
Parts of the landfill, particularly those facing the coast were then scheduled to be landscaped. However, large parts around the back were not. Mr Brincat said the government had secured a further €1.3 million in EU funds for the works and made a similar amount in savings from the original plan.
This, he said, would be used for planting trees and finishing off the slopes with vegetation. Some 4,000 large trees, 10,500 small trees and 20,000 large shrubs will cover the entire site when finalised. This does not mean lovers of the outdoors will be getting a new park any time soon. Mr Brincat said landfills remained active for around 30 to 40 years after being shut down, producing gases and sparking underground fires.
Some 4,000 large trees, 10,500 small trees and 20,000 large shrubs will cover the entire site when finalised
This meant it would be several years before people were walking their dogs and riding bikes through the site. Mr Brincat also said the nearby Għallis landfill would not reach capacity until 2020, stretching its original life expectancy by six years.
The engineered landfill was meant to be completely filled by last year. However, Mr Brincat said “good waste management” had given it a few more functioning years.
The authorities, he said, had been using waste compacting techniques to pack more into the landfill.
Wasteserv was also exporting refuse-derived fuel collected from the landfill and recycling more than had originally been planned. The landfill was opened in 2006 and has a total capacity of 1.7 million cubic metres of non-hazardous waste.
At the originally estimated filling rate of 250,000 tonnes of waste per year the site was expected to be full within seven years.
Mr Brincat said the opening of the new Malta North Waste Treatment Plant earlier this year would also be a “game changer”.