The Maltese Islands celebrated another vital advancement in effective waste management today, as Wasteserv officially inaugurated the new Gozo Waste Transfer and Materials Recovery Facility in Tal-Kus, Xewkija.
The €10 million facility, which is a first for Gozo, will sort and store waste before it is transferred to Malta. Works here started in 2009 and the project was partly funded by the Cohesion Fund 2007-2013.
Speaking at the inauguration Wasteserv Chairman, David Borg said that “Gozo never had a proper waste management system in place. All waste used to be collected in the open and from there transferred to the landfill in Malta. With the inauguration of this plant, Gozo for the first time in its history will have a proper waste management system where the waste will be processed in a closed environment before it is transferred to Malta. Such processes will help to safeguard the surrounding environment.”
This state-of-the-art facility has three main functions. Primarily, the Materials Recovery Facility will provide the necessary pre-treatment for dry recyclables, mainly from bring-in-sites and households, so that they can be sorted and baled prior to further treatment. These dry recyclables will be sorted into plastics, paper, cardboard and metals using a semi-automated mechanical process. They will then be delivered directly to their respective destinations, where the final treatment process or export will take place.
Secondly, the facility will also receive 12,000 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) every year, which will then be efficiently compacted in hermetically sealed containers and transferred to Malta for further treatment. In addition, the third process consists of shredding of bulky waste where possible and transfer of this material to Malta.
“Together, these facilities will now diminish a staggering 900 kilograms of CO2 emissions per year, through the reduction of 20,000 kilometres in transport,” says Wasteserv CEO Tonio Montebello. “We are proud to say that the new facility will also save a striking 15,000 cubic meters of landfill volume every year.”
Once operational, this plant will become an important component in the Wasteserv machine, enabling the company to further enact its vision of creating resources from waste, across both Malta and Gozo.
In his address the Minister for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change, Leo Brincat said that “the €10 million project being inaugurated today will help to enhance the environment and efficiency in waste management in Gozo.
He added that through this project Wasteserv will be strengthening its infrastructure and implementing a more organised waste management system in line with Government’s national strategy for the green economy and green jobs.
Minister Brincat explained that before this plant was inaugurated, all waste in Gozo was taken to the temporary transfer station in Qortin and from there transferred to the Ghallis landfill or to Sant Antnin. Prior to the commissioning of this plant all recyclable material was sorted in Qortin in an open air environment as no other pre-treatment process was available in Gozo.
Minister Brincat concluded by commending all those involved in this project right from the planning stage and up to its commissioning and operation stage.
He said that “Considering this is the biggest investment ever made in waste management in Gozo, this is a historic moment for Gozo.”
The Parliamentary Secretary for the EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, Dr Ian Borg said that this project was partially funded through the EU Cohesion Funds 2007 – 2013 to the extent of 85% EU funds and 15% local funds totalling €10 million. This expense covered the development of building and the purchase and installation of the machinery and the vehicles to operate this plant.
The Minister for Gozo, Anton Refalo said that the waste treatment plant in Tal-Kus is extremely important for Gozo because it is a project that will help enhance the surrounding environment. This project is different from the one in Qortin because all processes will be completed in a closed environment, thereby eliminating any odours emanating from the waste.
The Minister added that the facility has been designed to have minimal impact on the surrounding environment. In fact the plant was built in a disused quarry and the stone covering the roof has been designed in such a way so as to blend with the topography of the surrounding environment.
The Minister concluded by saying that the plant will complement the current waste management infrastructure that Wasteserv already has in place in Gozo.