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The Malta Federation of Industry (FOI) is preoccupied about the way certain decisions are being taken in the environmental sector with the latest cause for concern being the multi-million investment in a new incinerator at the Abattoir in Marsa.
In a statement the FOI said the new incinerator is of such a magnitude that it would only be cost-effective when nearing its full capacity of 12,970 tonnes annually, a volume which the Abattoir will never generate.
“The plant will be managed by Wasteserv Malta Ltd, a public company which is wholly owned by the government and which is in direct competition with the private sector can also affect industry, which may have no choice but to use the incinerator at a price fixed by Wasteserv. This decision is bound to badly hit the operators of private incinerators who do not have the strength to compete in a dominated market,” the FOI said.
The industry body lamented that the decision to invest in this type of incinerator “does not fall in line with the position taken last year by government regarding waste-to-energy.”
The federation said the incinerator is not compatible with waste-to-energy technology and would need significant additional investment to upgrade.
“The FOI had last year lauded government for its decision to move towards waste-to-energy before the 2013 deadline. Regretfully, more than a year has passed and industry was never asked to contribute towards the consultation about waste-to-energy. With the price of crude oil reaching new highs over the last year, the decision to invest in an incinerator, which does not offer waste-to-energy features, is another lost opportunity to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel,” the FOI said.
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