Manure recycling plant project rejected to Munxar residents’ delight

Munxar residents burst into applause after the Planning Authority board on Thursday rejected a proposed facility for the recycling of manure.

Residents of the Gozitan locality had strongly objected to the facility, which they claimed was too close to residential areas.

Board members appeared to have been swayed by that argument and overwhelmingly rejected the project. Only architect Elisabeth Ellul voted in favour of the facility, in view of the fact that the PA’s agricultural advisory committee had argued the project was in line with policy.

Labour Party representative Clayton Bartolo and PN representative Marthese Portelli voted against.

The project aimed to recycle livestock waste into granulated manure and new water, which could be used in agriculture.

The proponents of the project had argued that 45 per cent of cattle farms - 19 farms – in Gozo were located in the vicinity of the proposed project.

This was one of the major arguments made in favour of the project’s location. However, the proximity to Munxar and Sannat was deemed inappropriate by nearly all board members. 

The application also proposed the extension of a private cow farm in the same area.

READ ALSO: Despite animal waste emergency, Gozo objectors could stop new facility

The project was proposed by Tenaga limited, a private company specialising in processing animal waste.

The planning directorate objected to the project arguing that it should not be located in a rural area but adjacent to an existing waste facility at Tal-Kus. During the meeting the developers expressed a willingness to consider other sites. 

Gozitan Nationalist MP Chris said he was not against the project, noting that it fulfilled an important function, but against the location. Said noted that an area had already been identified in Tal-Kus for a government-owned project. 

“It does not make sense to have such a project 99 metres from the nearest residence when another site was already identified,” Said added.

The developers insisted that the development was 200 metres away from the development zone. 

Planning consultant Ian stafrace who spoke on behalf of the Munxar council insisted that no proper site selection exercise was carried out.

Opposition representative Marthese Portelli described the study on alternative sites as a desktop study. Her argument was shared by government MP Clayton Bartolo.

Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson Camel Cacopardo referred to the impact 15 trips made by bowsers would have on the small Munxar village.

“There will be a bowser every 40 minutes… The project is simply out of scale with a small locality,” Cacopardo said.

He remarked that only two other sites had been considered but no explanation was given as to why the alternative sites were chosen.

The project’s architect insisted that the two alternative sites considered would have meant waste being transported through more residential areas. He also excluded odours since the project will mostly be underground using the latest technology. 

The architect said that the situation was much worse at present because odours impregnated the air when slurry was left to dry in the sun.
“We will be removing odours from fermenting waste accumulating on farms. Ironically the community is complaining on a project for its benefit,” he said.

Policy only permits farms to process their own waste and does not allow them to process waste from other holdings.

But the architect insisted the processing of animal waste on one farm or many would require the same scale of equipment. “So it makes more sense to benefit economies of scale by encouraging farmers to team up,” he argued.

PA CEO Johann Buttigieg asked the developers to present a copy of agreements with the Gozo farms.

He also noted discrepancies in the size of the site declared by the applicant, noting that this had an impact on whether the council had a vote or not during the board meeting. Buttigieg described the activity as a waste station that could not be allowed in a rural area.