Reference is made to Leo Brincat’s opinion piece entitled “The Marsa incinerator: beyond the wear and tear spin” (TMIS, 4 November).

Mr Brincat claims that the combustion chamber “suffered serious damage” causing a stoppage of the plant that was “worrying”. Anyone with sufficient technical competence in the field will confirm that both these allegations are totally unfounded. Mr Brincat also insists that the damage is related to the fact that “what started off as an incinerator intended to handle primarily organic animal waste is now handling all types of waste”. This cannot be further from the truth since the incinerator only treats abattoir, clinical, pharmaceutical and industrial oil wastes. Notwithstanding all, this abattoir waste still accounts for circa 90 per cent of the total waste throughput in a year treated at the Marsa incinerator.

For the benefit of the general public, WasteServ would like to clarify that it is a standard requisite for the internal lining of the combustion chamber to be changed on a regular basis, since this consumable is perhaps the most frequently replaced part for these types of rotary kiln type incinerators. One needs to keep in mind that this lining (also technically known as refractory) is directly exposed to temperatures exceeding 900°C and its purpose is to serve as a sacrificial shield for the incinerator drum. Regular maintenance work is scheduled every four to five weeks during which one of the established routines among many involves an inspection and servicing/replacement of this lining. There is certainly no spin in these facts and it is futile to continue persisting that replacement of refractory represents major damage.

In addition to scheduled maintenance, the plant may also need to be shut down due to minor faults, such as damage in the water-cooling part of the plant or one of its many fans. From January 2012 to date, the plant was stopped three times in unplanned stoppages.

WasteServ furthermore confirms that all shutdowns are reported to Mepa as its regulator. The company website also has daily updates of the status of the plant as well as daily and half-hourly readings of the plant’s emissions. The past records are then archived, and a copy of these is also sent to Mepa.

As ever, WasteServ remains continually committed to its endeavour to achieve excellence and this is borne out by its efforts in all sectors, which have ensured that the company reports sound, positive results achieved mainly through ongoing reinforcement of its internal mechanisms and structures.

Gillian Zammit

PR & Communications Manager

WasteServ