No Green, No Clean
Waste is a product generated from a number of human
activities and it is one of the major problems in the Maltese
Islands. Due to its dense population Malta produces a high
consumption of waste. Fortunately actions were taken and
waste management in Malta is being treated much better
than it was in the past and this is shown in the separation of
waste unlike it was until 2004 as waste used to be dumped
at the Magħtab which grew into a large eyesore.
As mentioned above, Malta is a densely populated country and the high
consumption of waste is resulting from daily human actions. Nowadays, products
have a shorter life, they are thrown away once their use is no longer required,
most products are wrapped in excessive packing, people are wealthier and prefer
to replace old goods with new ones rather than repairing them, the demand for
service such as technology, leisure etc has increased extensively and Malta is a
small island with insufficient land where to dispose waste.
When waste used to be dumped at Magħtab, it left several negative
consequences; when spontaneous combustions occur, dangerous fumes of
methane and carbon dioxide were being produced and these are two main gases
which contribute to the greenhouse effect. Due to leeching of rain water, the water
table was being polluted and therefore further water purposes such agriculture
purposes became ruined. It became an eye-sore to the whole environment, gives
a bad name to Malta and also increased human diseases such as asthma. All this
consequences have left a negative impact now and that is why actions are being
taken, in order to act sustainable for the future generations.
Waste is not just domestic waste (i.e. waste consumed at one’s home) but it
consists also of inert waste (i.e. waste consumed from the construction industry).
A high amount of inert waste is situated at Magħtab and it is hard to get rid of it as
it neither dissolves nor burns however it does not pollute or increase the risk of
health diseases but it takes up a lot of space. In order to get rid of this waste it can
be dumped in dead quarries and someday be turned into something useful (e.g.
garden) or extend the coastline just like what happened with the Freeport. Rubble
islands can be built using this sort of waste and wind farms could be put there and
that way we would be killing two birds with one stone as we would be getting rid of
the inert waste but we would be using renewable sources of energy at the same
time. Certain countries suggest incineration which for Malta it is not very useful as
incineration plants are highly expensive.
Waste management includes two different sections; high waste approach (burry or
burn waste and leave it there) and low waste approach (avoid landfills and
incinerations and produce as little waste as possible). The Low Waste Approach is
more beneficial since Malta faces a problem of the lack of space and although
incineration solves this problem it still produces gasses which contribute to the
greenhouse effect and eventually it increases. The best solution is to produce the
least waste possible. This section incorporates the four important EU Principles
which should be followed by every country;
 Prevention: Produce the least waste possible.
 Polluter Pays Principle: who pollutes must be fined.
 Proximity Principle: waste should be dumped somewhere close to where
it has been produced in order to avoid pollution.
 Precautionary Principle: prevent waste problems.
Waste separation consists of the 3R’s; Reduce, Reuse
and Recycle. This cycle start off with waste reduction.
One has to reduce the amount of waste produced such
as use lunch boxes which can be washed and reused
again instead of rapping lunch into plastic or when it
comes to printing, paper should be used from both sides
rather than from one side only. If something cannot be
reduced we try to reuse it such as; why change appliances if they are still working
right? Or what is the need of changing a mobile phone every year when your old
one is still working fine? The last option obviously is that of recycling. Waste is
separated in four different bins; Plastic (blue), Paper (white), Metal (black) and
Glass (brown). Then the content in these bins is taken to one of the recycling
treatment plants. Most of the domestic waste is taken to the Sant’Antnin Waste
Treatment plant found at Marsaskala where organic waste is turned into compost.
What happens with the separated Waste? Glass waste is turned onto paving
blocks and is then exported, aluminium is sold to companies and exported as well
while papers and newspapers are recycled into tissues, toilet paper or shredded
animal breeding. Most of the organic waste is taken to the Sant’Antnin Waste
Treatment Plant where it is turned into compost which is then sold to farmers.
WasteServ Malta Ltd. is in charge for waste disposal facilities. One way
of creating space in your home is by squashing plastic bottles before disposing of
them at the Bring-In sites, as this saves three times as much space. Water and
soft drink bottles are bulky items. Since plastic is one of the most popular kinds of
waste being separated, extra bins for plastic are being placed at the 200 Bring-In
Sites around the Maltese Islands. In 2007, 500,470 kilograms of plastic alone has
been collected from Bring-In Sites by WasteServ, nearly double that collected in
2005.
Every year 1.8 billion tonnes of waste are thrown away just between the European
Countries. In our daily lives waste can be decreased and there are various ways
to do so. Why take disposable items when going on a barbeque or on a picnic
when you can buy a picnic set which does not cost a lot and when one arrives at
home cutlery, plates and glasses can be washed and reused again? Why print on
one side of the paper and leave the other side blank when you can use it from
both sides? Why pack your lunch in a small plastic bag when you can put it in a
lunch box which then it can be washed and used again? These are all everyday
facts which we can avoid and without knowing by doing one of these one can help
the environment a lot. Let’s all be sustainable people in order for the future
generations to have a nice environment around them just like us!