Last summer, over 30 truckloads of construction waste were seen being dumped into a huge hole in Santa Lucija, Gozo with the same trucks leaving the area loaded with fertile soil from the same field.

It was the fourth such hole in the same field this summer, with other similar holes seen in the vicinity.

While Malta is talking about divorce, some witty entrepreneurs are ticking in another direction, seeking ties and win-win situations to fill their coffers at a time when their order books are low. In this type of marriage the farmer allows the constructor access to his field against a cut in profits. If asked, the farmer would tell the authorities that he only intends to build a water reservoir as evidenced by the huge hole excavated in this exercise.

Unbelievable, but all this happens in broad daylight. To dump a truckload of construction waste in an authorised site, one is charged over €50. In the meantime a truckload of soil retails for €150. A consequence of the difference in price is that contractors are dumping their construction waste in large holes they dig in fertile fields, saving €50 in the process. They then sell the replaced soil for €150 elsewhere. And the nominal farmer gets his share of the profits.

Such an exercise does not only downgrade the quality of the field in question which happens to be only some 50 metres away from a public borehole (visible on the right). Construction waste could also be contaminated and such huge holes may also change ground watercourses for wells and cisterns around this field. Thus the buried truckloads could pose a bombshell for our future resources.

I do not know who is condoning this practice. But I would like to know from WasteServ how it ensures that truckloads leaving construction sites are monitored to end up at the foreseen dumping sites. It all boils down to the main weakness of the eco-Gozo saga. Environmental laws have to be enforced for such an endeavour to be successful but we lack well-trained personnel (waste-watchers) to do the enforcement job. While the eco-Gozo concept makes some steps forward, others in Gozo make sure that the environment deteriorates at a faster pace.

It is about time that the authorities stop this degradation while forcing the contractors to shell out remedial damages to restore these illegal waste sites to their original clean state.

Agnes Debono

Kercem