The Malta Federation of Industry (FOI) has expressed its concern about the way certain decisions are being taken in the environmental sector. The federation said the latest cause for concern is the investment of millions of liri in a new incinerator at the abattoir in Marsa.

The FOI said the new incinerator is of such a magnitude that it would only be cost-effective when it reaches the full capacity of 12,970 tonnes annually, a volume which the abattoir will never generate.

The plant will be managed by WasteServ Malta Ltd, a public company which is wholly owned by the government and which is in direct competition with the private sector.

The FOI said this would also affect industry, which may have no option but to use the incinerator at a price fixed by WasteServ. This decision is bound to badly hit the operators of private incinerators who do not have the strength to compete in a dominated market.

It said the decision to invest in this type of incinerator did not fall in line with the position taken last year by the government regarding waste-to-energy.

“The FOI is informed that the said incinerator is not compatible with this technology and would need significant additional investment to upgrade. The FOI had last year lauded the government for its decision to move towards waste-to-energy before the 2013 deadline.”

“Regretfully, more than a year has passed and industry was never asked to contribute towards the consultation about waste-to-energy. With the price of crude oil reaching new highs over the last year, the decision to invest in an incinerator which does not offer waste-to-energy features is another lost opportunity to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel,” the FOI concluded.