Give back responsibilities to local councils, PN proposes in wake of waste crisis

Updated with PL statement at 17:30

The Nationalist Party is calling on government to give back waste collection and enforcement responsibilities to local councils, among a number of proposals aimed at mitigating the waste situation across the country.

In a statement signed by PN Spokesperson for Planning, Stanley Zammit as well as the Spokesperson for Local Government, Darren Carabott, reference was made to WasteServ CEO’s suggestion to freeze organic waste in order to avoid odours. 

The PN notes that environment minister, Miriam Dalli has still not denied that by freezing organic waste, the waste situation across the islands will be mitigated. This, the PN notes, is a clear sign that government has not realised that its own waste reform has failed.

Additionally, the PN stated that government’s economic policy which relies on quantity, along with a lack of planning have overwhelmed the country’s infrastructure, namely health, energy, traffic, waste management and drainage infrastructure.

The PN is insisting that government publish the Carrying Capacity Study and engage in a serious discussion with all stakeholders in order to create a holistic plan. This, the PN said, will ensure that the country’s infrastructure will once again be able to handle its demands. “This cannot happen if Malta is still being blindly lead without a clear economic policy which aims for quantity and not quality,” the PN noted. 

Meanwhile, in order to address the waste situation, the PN has reiterated its own proposals which were released nine months ago, which have so far been ignored. The proposals include:

• Increasing the frequency of waste collection

• Creating a coordinated system between local councils and apartment block administrators

• Identifying environmental crime hot spots and increasing enforcement

• Giving back responsibility to local councils with regards to waste collection, along with additional resources in order to better enforce the waste collection system

The PN emphasized that government should listen to the people and come up with serious and effective solutions, instead of focusing on empty words that have so far lead to nowhere.

Labour Party statement

Later on, the Labour Party responded by saying that the PN's policy on waste management "has always been to enlarge landfills," and that the PN still focuses on policies which increase waste production.

"The Labour Party is calling on government to keep implementing changes that cater for future generations," the PL stated.