The plans to have temporary landfills should be avoided, Friends of the Earth said today. The government should make public the studies that have been carried out on the permanent landfill site, and start work on the most acceptable site as soon as possible. In the meantime, waste separation at source should take off in as many localities as possible with the full cooperation and support of the Local Councils, FoE’s waste campaigner said. If Ghallis is really the best possible site, the process to excavate the first cell should be speeded up so that it can be ready to accept waste by May 2004. Provided enough...
Oil Dumping at Maghtab
The authorities handling of the dumping of oil from the ‘Kronviken’ leaves much to be desired, Friends of the Earth Malta said today. Unknown to most of the public and certainly to the NGOs ships arriving in Malta have been dumping their sludge oil at Maghtab. This is an unacceptable situation and the government should ensure that such oil is not mixed with other waste haphazardly as has been the case in the past decades. The authorities should investigate possibilities of re-using such oil and treating the remains separately. Friends of the Earth calls on the authorities to make public...
Save that oil
Friends of the Earth (Malta) urges all catering establishments that normally throw away used vegetable oil to get in touch with Edible Oil Refining Co Ltd so that used oil can be collected for the production of biodiesel. Legal Notice 8/93 (sewer discharge regulations) stipulates that all catering establishments should install a grease trap in order to prevent the blocking of sewers with grease and fat. At present most of the collected grease ends up at Maghtab and what is not collected ends up in the sea. Edible oil is offering a service whereby oil is collected to make biodeisel. Biodiesel...
Government should go for two-way
Given that Malta does not seem likely to obtain derogation to retain glass for soft drinks, the government should now push for a two-way bottling system for all beverages. A two-way system for beverages will mean much less waste will end up on our dumps and Malta already has an excellent track record collecting and refilling beverage bottles. The alternative – staring Malta in the face at the moment – would be the loss of several hundred jobs and the prospect of adding 80million+ plastic bottles to our already large volume of waste that has to be disposed of. Friends...
MEPA doublespeak – landfill site selection process should be widened
During a recent meeting held between officials of the ‘Malta Environment and Planning Authority’ and ‘Friends of the Earth (Malta)’ MEPA officials confirmed that it had received an application from government to develop an engineered landfill at either of two designated sites, at Tal-Harrub, Benghisa or Il-Ghallis ta’ Gewwa. Friends of the Earth representatives were given the reassurance that the Environmental Impact Assessment for this development would also consider other sites. That impression has now been severely tainted by what appears on the MEPA’s own website about the government’s Project Description Statement for a new landfill(s): “The conclusion of the report,...
Waste management strategy needs adjusting
The waste management strategy that the government has adopted could fall short of being a big step forward for Malta, Friends of the Earth (Malta) said today. Unless certain adjustments are made to the strategy, Malta could find itself moving in the wrong direction and environmental NGOs, such as Friends of the Earth, would withdraw its support for the plans. On the other hand, with certain adjustments, the strategy could represent the first major environmental improvement in the Maltese Islands in recent memory. FoE (Malta) welcomes the postponement of a decision on incineration. This represents a victory for the environmental...
FoE welcomes waste strategy
Friends of Earth (Malta) welcomes government’s decision to adopt the waste management strategy recommended by EU approved consultants Carl Bro without incineration as a waste management option. The strategy represents a very big step forward for Malta and FoE recognises the government’s maturity in considering incineration and deciding against it. FoE (Malta) is interested to work with the government and suggests that NGO representatives are included in the task force that will implement the strategy. FoE (Malta) is eager to know the other details relating to the strategy and hopes that the correct measures have been chosen for an environment...
Figures used to justify need for incineration are wrong
The figures used by the EU approved consultants to justify the need for incineration in Malta are wrong, Friends of the Earth can confirm today. Although consultant Michael Betts is claiming that incineration is the only proven technology which could further reduce the volume of biodegradable waste after separation at source and composting, Friends of the Earth (Malta) knows this to be untrue. The consultants told FoE (Malta) that they would not recommend incineration if it could be shown, by reference to the figures, that Malta does not need it. FoE (Malta) is now in a position to show that if...
Important information about waste management strategy being kept from the public
While the public is being asked to comment on Malta’s proposed waste management strategy by 21 August, this is proving to be difficult because very important information is being kept out of the public domain. The waste management strategy prepared by EU approved consultants Carl Bro, is based on figures and assumptions that are being kept under lock and key by the same consultants. While FoE Malta is aware that the model prepared to arrive at certain conclusions in the proposed strategy has a commercial value, it believes that the public should have access to the figures and assumptions used...
Environment Minister suggesting anti-environment options
Moviment ghall-Ambjent cannot agree with Environment Minister Francis Zammit Dimech when he suggests that inert waste should be used to reclaim parts of the coastline or to construct small islands off the coast. The minister would seem to be trying to influence the public in ways which are not acceptable and this at a time when the public is being asked to comment on a proposed waste management strategy for Malta. It is more than ironic that our environment minister has never started to tackle, and even fails to comment on Malta’s most pressing environment problem: our use of land...