PN Whip Robert Cutajar said that the government failed to bring forth all studies on alternative sites on the location of the waste incinerator which is being proposed to be built in the Magħtab area.
Cutajar told The Malta Independent in a press conference today, that the decision of the incinerator’s location was done without discussions and consultations from the local councils and environmental organisations. Cutajar was asked whether the PN had an alternative location in mind for the building of the incinerator.
He also added that there will be negative consequences following the incinerator being built in Magħtab, as traffic congestion in the area will increase, where waste disposal trucks will be concentrated in one zone.
“The PN is not against the building of an incinerator, however, we must make sure this is being done in a sustainable way,” said Cutajar. The incinerator, its measurements being 30 metres below land and 60 metres above, is unnecessarily large and will have a negative impact on air quality in the immediate area, that of Naxxar and Għargħur, Cutajar pointed out. He added that the incinerator should be way smaller, to avoid destroying more agricultural land in the area.
Cutajar questioned whether the adequate studies done on this project were presented at the disposition of the local councils and environmental NGOs.
In the nine years that the Labour party has been in government, the panic to build an incinerator arose conveniently nearing the general election, whilst the PN has been making plans for it from several years before, emphasized Cutajar.
Cutajar highlighted the environmental impact the incinerator will also have on the protected maritime zone in the vicinity of Magħtab.
PN MP Karl Gouder said that Malta is entering an environmental crisis, following several surveys and statistics showing that the country’s environment has gotten worse. He also appealed for the local councils to be given more power in important decision making, even on a national basis.
PN candidate James Aaron Ellul said that the government failed to consult with local councils as well as local farmers whose land will be taken following this project. He mentioned that the PN has put forth several proposals for the protection of the environment, such as pedestrian zones in each locality, electric vehicles in the country as well as solar panels to be installed on roofs of each school, among others.
PN wants more landfills – PL
Reacting, the Labour Party said the PN is opposing the waste-to-energy project without coming up with any alternatives, showing that it wants Malta to have even more landfills.
It also proves that the PN is populist and does not have solutions.
The PL said the waste-to-energy project was drafted by a committee of experts that the PN had refused to be a part of. “It is clear that it did not want to be there so that it would come out against the project, irrespective of what would be discussed. Those who do this are not credible. Those who act in this way cannot lead a country.”