Work is on track for the new Malta North waste treatment plant to start operating by the end of the year, treating two-thirds of the country’s waste.
During a visit to the site, close to the former Magħtab landfill, Environment Minister Leo Brincat said the new plant would treat over twice as much waste as theSant’Antnin Recycling Plant.
The total cost of the project is €60 million, of which €43 million is being financed by the EU Cohesion Fund.
Mr Brincat explained that the government had previously harboured concerns over whether the deadline could be met due to the duration of the Mepa approval process: “But with the hands-on approach adopted by the youthful management team of the company [Wasteserv], we have been pleasantly surprised.
“I have asked for an itemised list of deliverables and I am now confident that, barring uncontrollable circumstances, the target will be reached,” he said. The plant is expected to start accepting waste by the end of 2015, ahead of final completion in early 2016.
With the hands-on approach adopted by the youthful management team, we have been pleasantly surprised
He added that once operational, it would represent a major step forward in the implementation of the country’s Solid Waste Management Strategy, by ensuring the diversion of some 58,000 cubic metres of waste from the Għallis landfill.
Wasteserv CEO Tonio Montebello explained that the plant would generate approximately 9.8GWh of electricity every year, which is enough to power 2,000 households.
Chief project manager Jean Luke Zarb said that the facility would treat 66,000 tons of domestic waste, 47,000 tons of commercial waste and 39,000 tons of manure every year.
This represents 152,000 tonnes of the 240,000 tonnes generated in total every year. He added that the process would include a mechanical pre-treatment stage, treating both mixed municipal solid waste and bulky waste, as well as a biological treatment stage.
It will be the first in Malta to offer facilities for treating animal husbandry waste.
Rubbish by numbers
Malta generated an average of 570kg of municipal waste per person in 2013, according to Eurostat figures released yesterday.
Across the EU, the amount of municipal waste generated per person amounted to 481 kg, down by 8.7 per cent compared with its peak of 527 kg per person in 2002.
The share of waste consigned to landfills in Malta was the second highest in the EU, after Romania: 88 per cent of treated waste in Malta was landfilled, while six per cent was recycled and five per cent composted.