[WATCH] Incinerator waste to be stored in newly excavated landfill at Għallis

Footage supplied by Wasteserv

A quarry excavated within the confines of Wasteserv’s Għallis complex will be used to store the remaining waste produced by an incinerator that has yet to be built.

The landfill was excavated at a depth of 55m and covers an area of 30,000sq.m. No agricultural land was taken up for the project and once completed the landfill will have a total volume of around 953,000 cubic metres.

Journalists were given details of the project during a tour of the site at the Ecohive Complex, a waste management facility operated by the Wasteserv.

The complex is eventually expected to house an incinerator, which will reduce the volume of waste required to be landfilled. The residue produced by the incinerator will have to be stored in a landfill for hazardous waste.

However, the incinerator project has been delayed because the tender was cancelled by the court earlier this year and will have to adjudicated once again.

Wasteserv CEO Richard Bilocca said the excavated landfill did not take up agricultural land since it is sited on a previous landfill where mixed plastic waste was stored.

Wasteserv CEO Richard Bilocca (centre) and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli (left)

He said the excavated material was reused in the construction industry in line with Wasteserv’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

“WasteServ is playing a crucial role in protecting the environment and enabling the transition toward a more circular economy. We are committed to modernising the waste management sector whilst protecting agricultural land,” Bilocca said.

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli said the vertical excavation was an innovative way of maximising space within the existing confines of the waste management complex.

“Whereas in the past agricultural land was taken up, the direction today is not to take up any such land. We are now looking into maximising the capacity of an existing landfill to extend its operational life and protect agricultural land. This is an important step for sustainability,” she said.