The Environmenal Impact Assessment and the outline development permit for the €150 million waste to energy plan will be completed and submitted in 2020, Environment Minister Jose Herrera said in parliament on Monday.
Herrera remarked that this budget reflects the hard work of the Maltese people and continues to build on previous measures while adding on innovations.
He said that the most important decision that the government has taken, which the opposition has refused to be involved in, is the €150 million investment in the building of a waste to energy plant.
He said that this plant was a way of addressing the country’s waste problems. He said the government wanted to reduce black bag output, but then generate electricity from what is left.
He said that in 2020 the Environmental Impact Assessment will be done and the outline development permit will be submitted.
He noted that there are 35 measures in the environmental field, mentioning measures such as a national strategy for carbon neutrality by 2050, more waste management measures, the increase of resources for ERA to push into research programmes into climate change and micro air particles.
Hundreds of tonnes of waste stored illegally in Wasteserv run facility – Azzopardi
PN MP Jason Azzopardi meanwhile claimed that hundreds of tonnes of WEEE waste is being kept in an illegal facility which is being run by state agency Wasteserv.
Azzopardi said that the illegal site has an environmental permit from ERA to hold up to 49 tonnes of white goods – such as fridges and water heaters – but is in actual fact holding up to 600 tonnes of the said waste.
“How can the government speak on the rule of law when Wasteserv is blatantly breaking the law? Where is the minister who is supposedly bound to ensure that the law is equal for all?” Azzopardi questioned.
Tabling drone photographs of the site, he moved on to question how this yard was chosen and why there had been no tender issued for it. The yard was acquired for €1 million by Bitmac Ltd, and Azzopardi noted that Keith Schembri is a silent partner in this venture, questioning whether this was a determining factor for this choice.
He mentioned how this site, which was a boatyard, had caught fire in February 2018 and not remained a boatyard, while also noting how “coincidentially” Maghtab and the plant at Sant Antnin had also caught fire in the last two years.
Throughout his speech, he noted that several of the PN’s pre-budget proposals had not been taken onboard by the government. He mentioned ideas such as the actio popolaris in environmental matters, more transparency in the Planning Authority website, ERA to be given veto powers, fiscal incentives for roof gardens, noise regulation, solar roads, and a skyline policy amongst others.
He also made reference to the fact that no Guardian for Future Generations has been appointed even though the vacancy opened last June, while also citing how the government has done nothing to improve Malta’s air quality.