The environment and health ministries said the Labour Party’s statement on the incinerator confirmed that the MLP tactic was to be a hindrance first and then, when the government’s efforts were about to come to fruition, to take the credit for itself.

It was referring to the ultimatum given by the European Commission to the government to close down St Luke’s Hospital incinerator, on which Labour MEP Joseph Muscat had been exerting pressure.

The process for the decommissioning of the hospital incinerator, the ministries said, had started before EU membership and the delay was due primarily to problems related to procurement and tendering.

Since, at the time, the government was also considering replacing the abattoir incinerator, it had followed expert advice to amalgamate the two processes. The abattoir incinerator was intended originally to take only abattoir waste but with an additional Lm750,000 investment on the original Lm4 million, the facility was improved to also take other waste, such as clinical and industrial waste.

The improvement also meant that the abattoir incinerator would be more efficient at less running costs, so much so that the Lm750,000 additional investment would be recovered within six months of the start of operations.