10 years left to sort out Malta’s construction waste mess

No space will be left for construction waste to be dumped in Malta’s disused quarries by 2020, a study by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) states.

The study on land reclamation says that at current rates of ‘infilling’, some 35 million cubic metres of empty space had been identified back in 2007 as space to dump construction waste – a space that would last for 12 years.

But this timeframe depends on whether private owners are willing to embark on this activity. MEPA reports a drastic decline in the amount of construction waste, from 1.3 million tonnes in 2008 to just 300,000 tonnes in 2009. If this decrease is sustained, quarries used for infilling of waste could last for a longer time.

What is worrying is that the report indicates that not all construction waste is going to licensed quarries. While the bulk goes to licensed quarries, “a substantial part is deposited in unlicensed quarries.”

In the past decade, MEPA issued enforcement notices against 11 quarries accepting construction waste without any permits. And this is only the tip of the iceberg, according to contractors speaking to MaltaToday, who claim others are dumping the waste in the countryside to evade any charges.

The same report – authored by ADI and Scott Wilson – says it will be impossible to use the waste to build artificial islands. Previously earmarked were the Bahar ic-Caghaq and Xghajra coastlines, but €400,000 in studies later and MEPA now says the islands are simply not feasible.

Reclamation on the Bahar ic-Caghaq coast has been excluded, but not on parts of Xghajra. In fact, any land reclamation should only go ahead if there is no other possible means of dealing with the construction waste once all quarry space has been exhausted.

“If there is a period of many years before that situation arises, then it would be logical to concentrate on improving the effectiveness of existing policy and economic instruments to reduce inert waste generation rather than going directly to land reclamation,” the report states.

It also excludes sea areas with grass beds from being used for land reclamation, limiting it to Xghajra’s northern area or an expansion of the Freeport as an alternative means of accommodating inert waste.

Land reclamation would cost anything between €15 to €40 per cubic metres, but it costs just €3 to place the same amount in quarries, or €4 to dump it at sea.

Land reclamation could only be feasible if it is subsequently developed on lines similar to the proposals for SmartCity. “Smart City has been evaluated as producing net annual benefits to the economy of up to €800 per square metre. There remains a question mark over whether there is sufficient demand for this scale of development”.

The construction waste saga

Before July 2003, inert waste was dumped at the Maghtab or Qortin dump sites.

Subsequently, the government awarded a five-year contract to a private entity owned by developer Charles Polidano to rehabilitate disused quarries by infilling with inert material.

In 2004, most of Malta’s inert waste began to be deposited in approved disused quarries. Between May 2003 and May 2005, 3.3 million tonnes of this material was deposited in 14 quarries.

A staggering 1.25 million tonnes of construction waste was also dumped in an offshore “spoil ground” located north-east of Vallettaharbour since 2003.

But Malta’s waste management plan regards dumping-at-sea as a temporary solution to the problems associated with the disposal of large amounts of inert waste in Malta.It also states that this activity has to be phased out due to Malta’s international obligations.

As from January 2005, the subsidy on the disposal of construction waste was removed and contractors now pay the full cost for the disposal of the waste that is generated. According to government plans this would result in a positive effect in the prevention of waste.

But Malta’s waste management plan admits that the space available is decreasing, and calls for the prolonging of buildings’ lifespan, and using recycled materials in the construction of new buildings.