Church environment commission welcomes waste management plan

The draft waste management plan is a step forward towards putting an end to the country's shortsightedness, the Church environment commission said.

The Church's inter-diocesan environment commission (KA) today published its reaction to the public consultation on the Waste Management Plan for the Maltese Islands.

The commission expressed its concern that irrespective of the islands' high population density, limited land space and lack of economies of scale coupled with the effects of its climatic conditions, "the Maltese tend to opt for short-term goals with promises of great national economic gains fed into their psyche by short-sighted economists and developers."

Consequently, the consultation document on waste management was a step forward towards putting an end to this trend that has "invariably resulted in gain for a handful of entrepreneurs and irreparable loss for our nation," the commission concluded.

"Our vulnerable situation and our commitments towards the international community are crying out for the need for our country to clearly identify the underlying sustainable targets that we need to achieve, and structure the strategy accordingly, thus breaking the vicious circle of trying to fashion our lifestyle to fit directives," the report added.

The Church commission also welcomed the concept of merging a Strategy, intended for local policy guidance, and a Plan, intended for local policy guidance and compliance to the relative EU Directive, within one National Waste Management Plan.

"While learning from past mistakes, the document acknowledges and builds upon the good practices and decisions that have been established by other administrations," the commission said, adding that it KA strongly feels that Culture needs to feature in sustainable development discourse since it ultimately defines development and determines people's actions.

One concern raised by the commission revolved around "certain decisions" which are still being proposed despite an acknowledged absence of reliable data.

"The strategy needs to include measures that ensure data collection on a regular basis and mechanisms that review, and possibly repropose, policies in the light of new emerging evidence."

Referring to the "transition from waste being seen as a problem to it being considered as a resource," the commission "deems it essential to remind all that waste as a resource surely does not imply encouraging waste generation so that it can be used to maintain a waste-to-energy stream going. Changing the predominant mentality about waste necessitates that we channel our creativity and industrial prowess to achieve sustainable solutions."

On the proposed law enforcement mechanisms and sound educational campaigns, the commission said it was pleased to note that some thought has been given to the provision of education that is "practical, moves away from just information transfer, addresses different audiences from different sectors and uses a variety of tools."