Professional studies and research are being undertaken into the area of food wastage in Malta, and Environment Minister Leo Brincat is seriously considering legislative measures to ensure that no food is wasted when there are people in need.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Brincat said that such legislative measure could primarily be aimed at ensuring that supermarkets do not throw away perfectly good food that could otherwise be put to good use.

The issue has picked up considerable steam in North America and Europe, where there are growing calls to stamp out food waste by forcing supermarkets to give unwanted food - usually still perfectly safe to consume but past their best before dates - to charity.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Brincat said that studies and research are currently being undertaken with a view to determining the exact situation in Malta, presumably in terms of gauging what is being unnecessarily thrown out, who could use such food and how it could be best distributed to the needy.

Mr Brincat said that such studies are focussing on the supermarket sector, which is also the main focus of similar efforts in other countries.  Once the studies are completed, the government will consult with stakeholders to plot out the best way forward.

Abusive commercial use of Civic Amenity Sites must stop

Turing to other waste sectors, Mr Brincat declared that the abusive use by the commercial sector of Civic Amenity Sites will be put to an end and local councils will be made more responsible for the stated of bring-in sites.

As far as Civic Amenity Sites are concerned, Mr Brincat noted how these had originally been intended purely for domestic use, but abuse in the system had crept in with the commercial sector having begun to use the sites regularly. 

The system, he said, had become defective and reforms were underway.

Mr Brincat also called for local councils to take more responsibility for their upkeep.  The problem of unsightly bring in sites, Mr Brincat said, and the government has offered to facilitate discussions between stakeholders so as to ensure bring in sites are maintained and kept clean.

Mr Brincat expressed his hope that an upcoming public waste education campaign will also help in this respect.

Marlene Farrugia calls for commission of experts to deal with environmental issues

Labour MP Marlene Farrugia called for the establishment of a new commission comprised of experts, NGOs, civil society and both sides of the House to thrash out the future course of public policies on the environment.

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the Environment Ministry, Dr Farrugia lamented the fact that the environment is exploited as a political football by administration after administration.  Malta, she said, is still waiting for politicians to take the environment seriously.  It is a concerning situation, she said, when a government places the needs of big developers over and above health considerations and citizens' quality of life.

San Franġisk Animal Welfare Centre to be a fully-equipped animal hospital

The San Franġisk Animal Welfare Centre at Ta Qali will be turned into a fully-equipped veterinary hospital within the coming months, Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said.  Accusations being made by the opposition over shoddy service at the hospital, Dr Galdes insisted, were completely unfounded. 

The problem, he said, was that the centre had been opened by the previous administration aftercare clinic, and not as a hospital. 

"We do not want to make the same mistake," he said, "and we are aiming to see to see how it can be made into a viable enterprise.  There will be a new tender for its operation, and hopefully within a few months we will have a fully-equipped veterinary 24/7 animal hospital."

As regards the tender, PN MP Mario Galea alleged the contract was destined to go to a person linked to Labour Party - a charge Dr Galdes flatly denied.  When Mr Galea had insisted that only one person had bid on the project, Dr Galdes insisted that the tender had been open to all and sundry.

 The pet cemetery project, Dr Galdes said, was moving ahead.