Earlier this week Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino took reporters to Maghtab to explain the process by which waste that accumulated at the landfill over the years is to be used to generate power.

Gas extraction from the Maghtab, Zwejra and Ghallis landfills will be generating 1.5 megawatts of electricity per year, enough to provide power for some 3,000 households, meeting the needs of some 9,500 people.

Three-quarters of the cost of the project is being financed by the European Union, with the rest to be forked out by the government. e8.4 million have been obtained by WasteServ in structural funds under the Regional Development Fund for its implementation.

The generation of power from waste is possible because when waste decomposes, it produces a very high quality methane gas which, in turn, can be used to fuel a generator that will create the energy.

At a time when energy costs are becoming higher because of the current situation in the international oil market, finding other sources of power is seen to be imperative.

All households and enterprises have received their water and electricity bills with a high surcharge over the past few months, and so we all know that to have water in our taps and electricity in our homes we have started to pay much more than we used to in the past.

It is highly unlikely that the situation with regard to the price of oil will change anytime soon, considering the way the international political situation has developed over the past few months and will continue to develop in the foreseeable future.

So it is of the utmost importance that a greater effort is made on the part of the authorities to find other sources of energy, which are less expensive and more environment-friendly, or both.

For many years the Maghtab landfill – maybe one should say mountain – was allowed to grow and little was done to control the situation. Following membership of the European Union, Malta has had to reorganise its system of disposing of waste, and the landfill was closed on the eve of EU membership.

Although the eyesore is still there, and will probably remain there for some years, now it is possible to reap some benefit from it. The fact that the rubbish that has been dumped there is now to be used to generate power means that at least Malta will be getting something positive from one of its “problem areas”.

Added to this, the dream of turning the mountain of rubbish into a national park is still possible. This, however, is a longer-term project, and we insist that if the government pursues this target, it must make sure that all health hazards are eliminated. It will take a great deal to persuade people to spend their Sunday afternoons at Maghtab, knowing its history, and therefore at present one must be cautious in the approach towards this particular subject.

The generation of power from waste, however, opens up other issues with regard to alternative sources of energy. Malta has relied heavily on oil and for many years has neglected other possibilities. It is good that power is now to be generated from rubbish, but it is only a start and it is felt that more should be done in this regard.

There are other forms of energy that have so far been given little priority by successive governments. Now it seems that a new chapter is starting. Apart from obtaining power from waste, the government has expressed its intention to actively consider installing offshore wind farms. The announcement made in this regard by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in Vienna yesterday opens the way for alternative sources of generating power.

Obtaining energy from waste was the first step towards reducing Malta’s dependency on oil. Wind farms as a form of energy is a second step. It seems that finally Malta has embarked on finding other ways of generating power.