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James Debono
According to statistics compiled by Wasteserv the year 2004 was a bumper year for Polidano Brothers and their German partners SWR Co Ltd, who are paid Lm 1.18 per tonne of construction waste. In 2004 the consortium was paid a total of Lm 2.6 million.
But following the removal of subsidies on the disposal of construction and demolition waste, the amount of waste handled by Wasteserv has decreased from an astronomical 2.2 million tons in 2004 to just 600,000 tons in the first eight months of 2005.
If present trends are confirmed by the end of the year Wasteserv would have handled a sheer 900,000 tons of waste by the end of the year, a incredible vanishing act of 1.3 million tonnes from waste levels in 2004.
MaltaToday is informed that since the removal of subsidies a significant part of the construction waste has been diverted to private quarries.
On Friday MaltaToday asked the Ministry of the Environment to give an account on what is happening to the waste which is not presently handled by Wasteserv, but a reply is still forthcoming.
2004 was a bumper year for construction waste generation. More waste was disposed in 2004 than in any year since 1996 when according to statistics published by the National Office of Statistics, the maximum amount of construction waste never topped the 1,500,000 tonnes mark.
Targets specified in the 2001 Waste Management Plan specify a reduction of 20 per cent from the construction waste levels of 2000 by the end of 2005.
This means that the target amount of waste for 2005 is 960,000 tonnes. Yet in 2004, Wasteserv handled more than double that amount. Surprisingly in 2005, the amount handled is not expected to pass the 900,000 tonnes mark. But the amount of waste disposed in private quarries is still unknown.
Up till the end of 2004, the public was subsidising the disposal of construction and demolition waste by 83 cents per tonne from January to March , 56 cents per tonne from March to November and 26 cents per tonne from November to the end of December.
This means that the government had subsidised contractors, including Polidano Brothers to the tune of more than Lm1 million.
It also means that the government paid Polidano Brothers with its partners German company SWR Co Ltd, Lm2.6 million, of which only Lm 1.6 million were paid by contractors.
As from the beginning of 2005, anyone wanting to dispose of construction waste is duty bound to take it to Polidano Brothers’ quarry and must pay the government the full sum of Lm 1.18 per tonne for its disposal and recycling.
Waste Serv Head of Operations Chris Ciantar considers the removal of subsidies added incentive for industry to reduce waste.
“As a matter of fact the tonnages of waste being handled by WasteServ continue to decrease during this year with a number of private initiatives taking off.”
But contractors speaking to MaltaToday contended that most of the waste is being diverted to private quarries where contractors are not charged for disposing of their waste.
Chris Ciantar confirmed that a number of MEPA regulated private quarries are taking a substantial amount of waste. He also considers the filling of private quarries as a form or reuse of waste.
“The fact that more and more quarries are being reclaimed is a positive thing,” Ciantar told MaltaToday.
Polidano and its partner have been asked to recover and recycle four percent of the waste increasing to 16 percent by the end of the contract a target which falls far short of that contemplated in Malta’s Solid Waste Management Strategy adopted by government and prepared by EU approved consultants.
That strategy had stipulated that by 2005 waste arisings were to be reduced by 20 percent, 60 percent of the rock was to be recovered as well as 50 percent of mixed inert waste from construction and demolition.
According to Wasteserv Chris Ciantar during the first 8 months of this year, the amount of recycled construction material 86,500 tonnes, approximately 14.4 % of the material handled so far.
According to Ciantar this waste is mostly recycled to be used as screed.
Chris Ciantar also informed MaltaToday that the revised Waste Management Strategy is likely to highlight new initiatives with regards to construction waste.
“This strategy is being issued for consultation prior to a final draft being prepared.”
Yet the incredible reduction in waste handled by Waste Serve in 2005 opens more interrogations on what is happening to Malta’s construction waste.
Jdebono@newsworksltd.com
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