GozoNews.Com

As WasteServ defends the controversial siting of a waste transfer station at Tal-Kus, in Xewkija, the local council remains adamant in resisting the move and will today hold a public discussion on the matter in Arcipriet Ciantar Street, Xewkija at 7 p.m.

WasteServ says the station represents a positive shift towards a more sustainable and environment-friendly system of waste management, where recycling and recovery replace waste dumped in landfills. Such a proposal will increase public awareness of the need for waste management, the company insists.

“A waste transfer station will allow all waste collected from Gozo to leave the island almost as soon as it is collected. This type of station is a closed and controlled facility where waste is received, sorted, processed and transported away from the site. Waste will be received at this station and transferred to Malta within a few hours,” WasteServ says.

The proposed facility will receive waste collected by 18 trucks, nine skip loaders, 13 vehicles and five vans. The waste will be loaded and sealed ready for transport. Air within the station’s building will be treated before being released into the atmosphere, Wasteserv says.

No biodegradable waste would be stored within the waste transfer building for longer than 72 hours. Sorting and pre-treatment of waste will be encouraged to cut down the volume of waste and the number of trips to Malta on the ferry, it adds.

Presently waste is collected almost everyday from most of the localities in Gozo. It is then taken to a site in the area of the old landfill in Qortin where it is loaded for transport to Malta. The separated dry recyclables are stored in the various bays constructed at this site and when there is enough material, it is transported separately to Malta for treatment and recycling. Two trips per day are required to transfer the waste to Malta.

WasteServ says the Qortin uncontrolled landfill has no system for the control of emissions and is, therefore, a hazard to the environment.

The preliminary work to rehabilitate the site has now started and through EU structural funds the latest technologies will be introduced to minimise odours and treat any harmful components in the gas resulting from the internal combustion within the mass waste materials, it explains. WasteServ says the waste management process will be supported by site infrastructure works and ancillary development in the form of access roads, weighbridge, concrete hard standings, site drainage and services, office accommodation, stone walling and peripheral landscaping works.

The Xewkija council believes that the plant, where 35,000 tonnes of waste originating from Gozo annually will be processed, will have a negative effect on Mgarr ix-Xini and archaeological digs taking place in the area.

The council said the Mgarr ix-Xini valley had long been known for its ecological, geomorphologic and cultural importance, and Mepa had scheduled the area for protection, including Tal-Kus, in 2001.