Nationalist Party MP Robert Cutajar launched a petition on Wednesday against the take-up of land for the extension of the Maghtab landfill area.
Some 247 tumoli of land, much of it agricultural, in Maghtab will be taken up by Wasteserv for new plants dealing with the treatment of different types of waste.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Cutajar – who represents the 12th district, where Maghtab and its surrounding localities can be found – lambasted the government for the “arrogant” decision they had taken with absolutely no consultation with residents or with local councils.
He noted that even the Local Council’s Association had condemned the government for not consulting local councils in the area about the proposed extension.
He said that he was launching a petition in the name of residents who feel hurt and aggrieved by the government “bulldozing” over them, which he will then table in Parliament.
He noted that a meeting in a parliamentary committee held on 28 May 2018, with the then Environment Minister Jose Herrera in attendance, had seen architect Joseph Scalpello from the Planning Authority say that the area surrounding Maghtab should be protected and that the agricultural land especially should be strengthened.
Cutajar also criticized the government for breaking its own laws on waste separation after images emerged of mixed waste and recycled waste being mixed and dumped together. “The government is complicit in illegal dumping”, Cutajar said.
The PN whip also called on the government to publish all the studies that they are carrying out in order to reach the decision to build an incinerator in Maghtab as well.
The extension was first exposed by PN MP Edwin Vassallo, and the Environment Ministry later confirmed with The Malta Independent that Wasteserv had indeed applied for an extension in the area, but noted that land would be given back elsewhere, such as in Wied Fulija, Qortin, and Marsacala where the current plants will be closed down, as compensation.
The plants being built in the area include the Waste to Energy Facility, the Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment Facility, Skip Loading Facility, Composting Facility, and an Organic Processing Plant, the Ministry told this newsroom.
PN MP Edwin Vassallo also said that the extension and the quality of Malta’s air was a great source of worry – greater than the outbreak of Coronavirus, he said as he referred to scenes of panic in supermarkets on Tuedsay. “This is something which should worry us collectively”, he said.
He also questioned why the Minister responsible for agriculture – Anton Refalo – had remained silent thus far and had not stood up to defend farmers.