Magħtab is the "preferred site" for the planned €150 million waste-to-energy plant but alternatives could still be considered, environment minister José Herrera told Parliament's environment committee on Tuesday.
The minister said Magħtab presented logistical advantages due to its proximity to the existing landfill. Answering questions from Nationalist MP Robert Cutajar, he said the government was open to alternatives, but pointed out that the Opposition had yet to suggest any other options.
Dr Herrera stressed that Malta could not afford another landfilling site as large as that at Magħtab and Għallis, which covers approximately the same area as Valletta.
Going for full recycling would have been the ideal solution, but placing such a burden on the country at this stage would have been unrealistic, he said.
Responding to queries from Opposition MPs Dr Cutajar and Godfrey Farrugia about the choice of Magħtab as a preferred site, he said a technical report on the project, commissioned from SLR Consulting Limited, was publicly available online.
However, a report drawn up by the EU’s Joint Assistance to Support Programmes in European Regions (JASPERS) body could not be published because of contractual agreements limiting it to internal department use.
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Dr Farrugia questioned whether it would be better to site the plant at Delimara rather than in Magħtab because of prevalent wind patterns in the area. However, it was pointed out that Malta’s small size made the location of such a plant almost irrelevant, especially considering that modern technologies allowed emissions to be treated in order to render them non-toxic.
Dr Herrera said that the problem of odours at Malta North could never be eliminated entirely, but added that the incinerator would reduce the ensuing nuisance because a major part of the planned investment would be oriented towards capping emissions.
The Environment and Resources Authority were in the process of finishing the terms of reference which would guide an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the project as conceived. Subsequently, they would be passed on to applicants for the project for environmental experts to be engaged and their views registered. A final consultation would precede any further action by the government.
Dr Farrugia insisted that waste reduction was instrumental for recycling targets to be met, but that there were no initiatives whatsoever aimed at reducing plastic use. Furthermore, he expressed his concern at the presence of microplastics in sea salt. To this, the Minister responded that a strategy was being developed to combat disposables, and that Malta was taking the initiative by developing such a strategy before the EU.