Mayor demands action on Polidano’s illegal dumping of Marsa ash

Siggiewi mayor Karol Aquilina has protested the illegal dumping of coal ash from the Marsa power station into the Ta’ Belluta quarry in Siggiewi.

In a letter to environment minister Leo Brincat, energy minister Konrad Mizzi and MEPA chairman Vince Cassar, Aquilina said he was shocked at learning of the case – reported in The Sunday Times – since MEPA had not taken any steps to remove this dangerous waste.

According to the report, Polidano Brothers has been storing waste containing ash from the Marsa power station at its Lapis quarry without the necessary permits.

The waste was being stored in an open environment, in a mix of coal ash and other materials used a infill at the Marsa power station, according to MEPA.

MEPA has commissioned a study to determine the waste’s contents and confirmed that Polidano did not have a permit to store such waste, which it claims is “non-hazardous”.

Aquilina has contended that the waste is dangerous and as government property, should not be left out in the open environment at the risk of people’s environmental health.