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 atMagħtab 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 ofcreating spacein your home isbysquashing 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!