MEPA incompetent enforcement in waste management

GRTU congratulated the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) for clamping down on the operator of an unlicensed waste sorting depot in Zabbar and said similar illegal operations in Malta and Gozo should be also stopped.

GRTU called on MEPA to investigate:

- 40 foot trucks transporting baled cardboard from Gozo to Malta during the night when there are no such MEPA authorized facilities in Gozo

- what volumes were deposited at that unlicensed facility in Zabbar and who brought these volumes of recyclable waste material to this facility

- who were the waste brokers who bought the material for export from this unlicensed site

- operators with vertical permits, i.e. a permit as a waste carrier, a permit as a Waste Broker and also a permit as a Waste Management Facility.

GRTU called on MEPA to revoke the permits of the offender as fines are not enough.

GRTU said that: “MEPA knows sufficiently well that many of the problems it has to face are self-inflicted as a result of incompetent enforcement. MEPA’s tolerance standards are far too high for serious environment protection and this is particularly true in waste management.”

GRTU said that MEPA must not allow illegal operators to drive legal operators out of business because it allows a black market economy to flourish.”

GRTU called on government “to set up the Monitoring Enforcement Committee in relation to Producer Responsibility as stated in its Budget document of 2011. The setting up of this Committee is already three years late. GRTU hopes this renewed call will now not fall on deaf ears.”