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James Debono
A CCTV camera on a solitary pole, observing nothing, is the only surviving structure at WasteServ’s bring-in site in Zebbug.
In fact it was through images captured by the CCTV camera that WasteServ learned that its waste separation skips had been taken away on a truck to be dumped in a contractor’s field.
It turns out that the contractor was only following the orders of the Zebbug local council, which had earlier on issued an ultimatum asking for the removal of the skips before 15 October. Too eager to get rid of the dreaded skips, the local council removed them one day before the expiry of its own ultimatum.
The Zebbug skip had become notorious for unauthorised dumping which was creating an inconvenience to nearby residents. In the wake of these complaints, WasteServ had decided to put up CCTV cameras in Zebbug. Cameras were also put in other sites at Naxxar, Zabbar and Rabat.
WasteServ’s chief executive Chris Ciantar told MaltaToday that on 1 September it had written to the Zebbug council informing them of the intention of introducing CCTV cameras in the area in order to curtail illegal dumping.
In the absence of a reply from the council, the CCTV camera was set up on a pole without the authorisation of the council. Earlier in October, Wasteserv received a letter from the council asking for the removal of the bring-in site.
Replying to the council, Wasteserv demanded the CCTV cameras be given a chance to bear results before removing the bring-in site, but the local council ignored the letter.
WasteServ later received a call from the council in which it was given an ultimatum to remove the bring-in site before 15 October.
In a press release issued on Friday, the Zebbug council alleged a contractor was re-mixing the waste in his truck.
Asked by MaltaToday whether WasteServ is investigating this serious allegation, Ciantar replied that he has written to the council to provide proof of this allegation, so that he would be able to take action against the contractor.
The local council remains adamant that no bring-in site will ever see the light in Zebbug. In the meantime the solitary pole with the CCTV camera remains a monument to the Zebbug council’s environmental credentials.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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