In reply to Mr Cutajar’s letter (TMID 12 August) I wish to point out that WasteServ is very sensitive to the concerns of the Marsascala residents so much so that it is proposing one of the largest capital investments ever made in waste management – a huge E16.7 million upgrading to the plant. With this kind of investment how can one say that the Sant’Antnin plant is being put under the guillotine?

This upgrading will transform the Sant’Antnin plant into a state-of-art waste treatment facility which will not cause any adverse environmental and social impacts to the surrounding neighbourhood. This is the bottom line and maybe this is the point which Mr Cutajar is missing out.

I also invite Mr Cutajar to view the recently published Second Draft Environmental Statement document, a soft copy of which can be picked from our offices, which identifies the changes that have been made following the consultation process with Mepa, NGOs, government departments and Marsascala and Zejtun local councils. These changes, which include the installation of a regenerative thermal oxidiser to eliminate odours, the processing of waste in a fully enclosed environment, the containment of air within the building so as not to allow odours to escape and the production of green energy for over 1,000 households, will radically improve the plant. It is these improvements that Mr Cutajar should be commenting about.

But for the sake of clarity I wish to comment on a number of misleading issues that have been raised in his letter to the paper. Regarding the site selection process, once again I repeat that the sites identified by Mepa were not selected on various counts including ecology, agriculture and access.

One site, in particular, was discarded because it interferes with the development of a controlled engineered landfill. This goes on to highlight that waste management facilities are being shared throughout Malta. Also, it is important to point out that the sites selection process was never foreseen in the Solid Waste Management Strategy of 2001. The Sant’Antnin facility has been destined for an upgrade since five years ago in a public document that was discussed with all stakeholders. Additionally, the alternative site assessment report was approved by Mepa following consultation with the Marsascala, Zabbar and Zejtun local councils. No objections were raised then.

The proposed new road is not planned to accommodate the facility but to help the residents. The road has nothing to do with the plant. Although it is acknowledged that this will lessen the traffic impact, this impact is already negligible. In fact the number of trucks entering the proposed facility is estimated at 69 vehicles.

In planning the new facility an important factor which has been taken into consideration is the visual impact. In fact in the proposed design the facility has been receded and includes large-scale landscaping around the plant which will reduce visual impact.

Dr Christopher Ciantar

WasteServ