Marsascala residents, and the suburban towns and villages, are all aware of the fact that the Environment Minister has decided to dismantle the existing Sant’ Antnin composting plant, demolish the building and build a new one much larger in size. It is calculated that the new plant will have the capacity to process all the refuse from Malta and Gozo.

According to the Environment Impact Assessment carried out by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the new plant will have the capacity to process a maximum of 200,000 tonnes of refuse. This means that the total amount of waste processed in the new proposed plant will be 10 times the

present volume.

The impact on the residents of Marsascala and neighbouring areas will be enormous. Apart from this, the residents can only imagine the negative effect of this type of plant. This includes quantities of carbon dioxide released by the large increase in waste trucks and other vehicles coming in and out of Marsascala, not to mention the invasion of flies, rats and other pests attracted by the large volume of refuse. No doubt all this will have a detrimental effect on our health, especially considering that this plant is situated only a few metres away from the residential area. Furthermore, the negative financial effect of this plant on our area, and the whole community, will be huge.

It is only recently that we got to know of all this. The residents and all those who have invested in homes and businesses in what is classified as a tourist area, need to act and show their disapproval, for many are convinced that this would be the death blow for Marsascala and the whole of the south of Malta. It is time for the people of Marsascala to reunite, and show by their resolve that they are not ready to accept such a threat. Whoever thought that Marsascala residents are weak and anything will do is mistaken, for what was done in the past will be done again with greater effort.

First initiative – a public meeting for residents to be held tomorrow at 10.30am. It is the duty of all residents to attend this meeting. With our presence, each and every one of us, we will show that Marsascala is the wrong place to build the new recycling plant to accommodate all the refuse of Malta and Gozo. It is not enough for residents to complain between themselves, or express their views against the plant in newspapers and other media. We need to show it in the open.

With courage and determination we will be able to defend our rights and succeed in persuading the government that the proposed re-cycling plant should be removed completely and built in a suitable site where it will not have an adverse effect on people. We must be clear and consider one thing only: that this is not a political issue but is simply a question of whether the residents are willing to accept this plant or not, knowing deep down its adverse and negative effects on us all.

Together, local council, various organisations and residents should make it clear tomorrow that we are all against making Marsascala a waste station for the whole of Malta and Gozo.

Joe Sant

Paul Cutajar

Lorry Deraffaele

Marsascala Residents