The consultation document of the revised Solid Waste Management Strategy for the Maltese Islands earmarks the Tal-Lewz area, l/o Sannat, as one of the possible alternatives for the development of a small-scale mechanical biological treatment plant in Gozo which would treat all the organic fraction of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as well as all the animal husbandy waste. In addition, the same facility could operate to process sewage sludge from the Ras il-Hobz sewage treatment plant.
Whilst one lauds the waste strategy for including such a facility, which is direly needed (enough to mention here the inconvenience causes from the loads of animal manure being transported on the ferry from Gozo to Malta due to a lack of such a facility), one begs to differ with the site selected for the facility. In fact, a number of legitimate factors militate against the choice of such a site, namely the fact that the Tal-Lewz area lies in a floodplain and as a result it is designated as land of good agricultural value and destined for intensive agricultural use. The Tal-Lewz area is but a few hundred metres distant from a number of residential areas and is relatively undisturbed, albeit for a number of farms which have mushroomed with very little consideration given to aesthetics or land usage. In addition, the visual impact at Tal-Lewz, which is surrounded by high ground from all directions, would be severe, to use an euphemism, and the same site constitutes the upper reaches of the Mgarr ix-Xini valley. The local councils of Sannat and Xewkija have been planning to institute a regional park to protect and promote the ecotourism assets of the same valley. The site does not enjoy good road connections, a further issue which detracts from the site’s suitability.
The siting of the waste treatment facility at Tal-Lewz would prejudice efforts to rehabilitate the whole area which has already been scourged by insensitive and jarring agricultural development over the last few years, contrary to old farm buildings which chime with the rural surroundings.
The site selection exercise should concentrate on sites which are relatively distant from residential areas, and possibly reutylize land which has already disturbed, where environmental and scenic impacts can be adequately mitigated.
I am sure that Hon. Minister Pullicino is receptive to the valid arguments being forward for the dropping of the Tal-Lewz area for the siting of the waste management plant and that he will take a judicious decision in due course. After all, he concurs that environmental projects should first and foremost enjoy the support of the community at large in order to succeed.
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