A year after its installation, the waste incinerator in Marsa incinerated over 5,600 tonnes of waste.
Resources minister George Pullicino yesterday paid an official visit to the plant, where 500 clients are served every month for the incineration of mainly animal carcasses.
The incinerator is currently handling 13 types of waste, mostly coming from the nearby abbattoir and farmers. Animal waste of this sort amounts to 86% of total waste, while clinical waste from hospital amounts to 5%. The rest consists of wood or other combustible materials.
Pullicino said that refuse derived fuel – the fuel produced by shredding solid waste – enabled savings of €1.5 million less in diesel costs than what was originally budgeted (€2.5 million).
Pullicino said the plant will also be generating electricity to supply the plant itself and export it to the national grid.
Incineration takes place first by keeping the waste solids in a cold room, then treated by being shredded, and finally incinerated by heat combustion of temperatures reaching 850˚C. Clinical waste goes directly to incineration. The containers for the waste are then washed and sterilised.
The process also releases gases which have to be treated because of the harm caused when released in the atmosphere. Studies are currently underway to use the dust removed from the gas with cement used for the constructio of the Ghallis engineered landfill.
Wasteserv chief executive Vince Magri said that this would enable the gas coming out of the 26-metre chimney to be cleaner and less harmful to people and the environment.
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