The greening of Maghtab was given an additional boost yesterday thanks to a donation of e30,000 (Lm12,879) by HSBC Cares for the Environment Fund. It will cover the cost of 2,000 trees in an initiative that aims to restore, and eventually transform, the dump into a national park.
During an onsite visit to Maghtab, HSBC Malta CEO Shaun Wallis presented the donation to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Minister for Rural Affairs and Environment George Pullicino.
WasteServ CEO Vince Magri explained the various work being carried out that includes the planting of trees, construction of a track for horse riding and, in the future, a cycling track.
Mr Pullicino said that the changing face of Maghtab could be seen every so often.
“The government is spending millions to rehabilitate this place and in around six years’ time it will be a place of recreation instead of a dumpsite,” he said.
He explained that there are three stages in the rehabilitation process: changing the surface of the dump to include a road network, installing more pipes to extract the gases generated in Maghtab and, thirdly, landscaping.
“We have already spent e4 million (Lm1.73m) of the e8.8 million (Lm3.78m) of EU funds to create a system of gas extraction from beneath Maghtab. There are still fires burning underneath, reaching a temperature of 220° Celsius,” said Mr Pullicino.
He added that around 90 steel wells, out of the estimated total of 300, to collect the gases and neutralise them before their release in the open air via flaring have been installed.
Recent lab results have shown that between 96 and 98 per cent of toxins found in the gasses will be eliminated in the treatment system, he said.
Mr Pullicino also explained that a tender would be issued in the near future for the realignment of the road so that trucks going to the engineered landfill can pass directly from the Coast Road.
He added that the third phase – landscaping – will cost around e30 (Lm12.88m) million to complete and involves the planting of over 2,000 trees and includes the construction of a horse-riding track made out of recycled tyres.
In his comments, Mr Wallis said that the rehabilitation of Maghtab is a huge and complex project and pointed out that incredible progress has been made.
“This dump was created by the nation’s waste and we want to give a small contribution to help towards its transformation,” he said.
Prime Minister Gonzi said the Nationalist government started off its legislature with a dump and is ending it by planting trees.
“This is one of the concrete changes that this government is implementing – an exceptional moment and I am extremely satisfied with what has been achieved,” he said.