‘Residents enduring sewage effluent due to carelessness’: ADPD joins Birżebbuġa tuna plant protest

ADPD - The Green Party said that residents were made to endure the brunt of smells and sewage effluent due to the lack of seriousness and carelessness in the way the tuna waste recycling plant in Birżebbuġa was implemented.

The party was addressing a press conference in Birżebbuġa on Saturday morning, right before they joined the residents in a protest about the plant.

Birżebbuġa residents with the support of Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa and Moviment Graffitti have this morning protested against the stench coming from the tuna recycling plant which started operating over two months ago.

The residents called for the immediate suspension of operations at the plant and insisted it is back in action only when the odour pollution was eradicated.

ADPD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said that this project could have been a very important asset in the development of Malta’s circular economy, but the project was not implemented professionally. He also slammed the authorities for not overseeing the implementation of it.

“It is simply not on that residents are made to bear the brunt of smells and sewage effluent because of carelessness and what looks like improper commissioning of the plant,” Cacopardo said.

He noted that since the project was approved through a Development Notification Order, there was no public consultation about it.

The Greens’ Chairperson said that few knew that in March 2021 the Planning Authority had issued the permit for it and that it was only in June that the public consultation began. He stated that the tuna waste project went through an environmental impact assessment and was approved by the Environmental Resources Authority.

According to Cacopardo however, as soon as the work for the commissioning of the plant started, it became clear that the plant manufacturers were not. tasked with the actual commissioning of the plant.

“The consequences are clear, whoever commissioned the plant does not have the necessary and specialised experience. This is a classic case of how a project that could have been very beneficial was implemented badly due to a lack of will by the authorities to see that things are done according to established practices and as approved by the ERA permits,” concluded Cacopardo.

ADPD Secretary General Melissa Bagley said that this “so-called development” of the locality, has always been done with only strictly economic goals in mind and with little regard to the consequences on the lives of residents.

She mentioned the “ever-increasing” activities of the Freeport and a car racing track, that she said will find itself in a supposedly industrial area.

“Its residents will once again be badly hit due to neglect and the mantra of economic gain. We can't help but wonder how we came to have sewage from the Aquaculture Resources Ltd plant ending up in residential areas in Birżebbuġa?”Bagley asked.

She emphasised that proper sewage management is something so basic in a developed country and asked whether Aquaculture Resources Ltd was indeed able to adhere to high health and safety standards.

“Where are the high standards that industry in a European Union country should follow? And where are the authorities who should see that industry actually adheres to these standards?” asked Dr. Melissa Bagley.