After having spent the best part of a hour with Dr Herrera, it became abundantly clear to us that here was a man with much vision and feeling for the situation he is responsible for, such that his creative approach to the issues his Ministry has inherited are not beyond solution – especially if Malta’s citizens and entrepreneurs alike put in that little bit of extra effort.
an interview with the Hon. Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Chang Dr Jose Herrera
His 27 years in legal practice specializing in criminal law have clearly given him a strong position from which to start. He knows the law (in some cases he even wrote it himself) and is ready to throw its full weight onto offenders if need be. It also becomes clear that he does his research; he travels to see how other countries have solved similar problems as ours, and he is full of workable ideas that possibly might seem (to some) to be going against the stream. He wants us to change our viewpoint but, as we know, change is not something that the human takes readily to, and explained that the creation of awareness and educating people needs to be married to a governmental will to implement and apply law to offenders. “That’s what my experience practicing in criminal law taught me. Just creating a moral obligation or awareness is not enough – we have been trying to do this for years on end and have never succeeded.”
“That is the only way,” he argued. Indeed, one can note that this same principle applies to the very heart of civilisation and democracy themselves.
THE WASTE ISSUE
So we bring up the subject of Maghtab and Dr Herrera explains that this issue of waste has two aspects – the residential and the commercial, which includes the construction industry as well. “First of all, there is what one can call the normal, general waste that comes from households, hotels, restaurants and suchlike, part of which is recycled and the rest put into the landfill. This we refer to as RDF, in other words it isn’t recyclable. The second type of the waste problem is construction waste. And the function of this ministry is to address both functions of the waste we produce,” he pointed out. Dr Herrera confirms that with regards to this first type of waste, the landfill is going to be full in two years’ time, “but there are also the new targets which we have to meet as set by the EU… for which we have to reach a level where at least 65% of all our waste has to be recycled. We are therefore going to create different ways to recycle it. Firstly, as just announced, we are enforcing separation at source, and secondly by creating different incentive schemes. We are going to create a council which will spearhead our efforts and the target is to reach the European aspiration by 2030. The remaining 35% will be managed by other means, such as the incinerator which is being proposed to be built in the coming years. This would actually minimise emissions not increase them, because of the system it embodies whereby the emissions themselves are further captured.”
we have to reach a level where at least 65% of all our waste has to be recycled
The Minister continued explaining that 40% of the investment in this incinerator would be to capture the emissions and what’s left would be a small percentage of two types of ashes, known as bottom ash and fly ash; the latter being the more dangerous. As for bottom ash, this could be turned into something else, Dr Herrera explained. “Once you have an incinerator in place you can produce electricity from it too”, he said, “as well as minimise emissions to help us reach our climatic goals of cleaner air. “This, and other plans still on the drawing board, will help us to meet the EU expectations. We’re working towards that direction,” added the Minister. When asked on the financial elements of managing waste properly, Dr Herrera explained that “by the end of last October we had started implementing the separation of organic waste in homes all across Malta and Gozo, and from this we can produce fertiliser and even gas, to say the least.” He then explained that recycling waste is made easier when separating at source. Exporting clean waste also becomes feasible as it fetches a good price. He continued that though the collection service is not charged for, cooperation and support from residences and commercial endeavours is expected and indeed required. On the level of commercial industries and the hospitality and catering industries this recycling service may not always remain free “but we do not envisage taxes” emphasised the Minister adding that the residential and municipal recycling service, which is free, will remain free “unless the users break the law. And then abusers would have to pay for their recklessness.” Construction waste “is a different kettle of fish,”said Dr Herrera, adding that “In the past and till today all we did was refill or replenish our quarries to fill them up and make them clean again but though that’s accepted as a form of recycling we’re running out of quarry space here too. At the moment the only option is the filling up of the quarries. And I recently took emergency action according to law to enforce a legal notice which involved a quarry. Though critics indicated that nothing came out of my action, the result is that enforcement orders as well as conservation orders are now being taken a bit more seriously than before by all involved.
the residential and municipal recycling service, which is free, will remain free “unless the users break the law”
It is not our intention to run the business of quarrying or anyone’s business for that matter, but I believe that I have reached my aspirations in this regard. It’s what the country needs and it is what I ordered. At the moment we have enough quarry space in 6-7 quarries to last us for the next two or so years. After that we have plans too… I have instructed the Environment Resources Authority to come up with a horizontal policy on this for the good of the construction industry as well as Malta. We are also giving serious consideration to the possibility of land reclamation,” said the Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change.
When we pressed the issue of land reclamation Dr Herrera replied that “one often hears questions about what sort of costs one would be looking at if land reclamation were to be implemented. The reality is that though there are considerable costs involved in creating land due to the complexities behind the reclamation process in itself, the development is bound to remain with a high positive equity. There are land reclamation projects which are very economically viable and are feasible to produce because they would enjoy potentially high ROI figures. The Freeport is a case in point and it is going to be physically extended; a factor which will undoubtedly amplify the Freeport’s performance , and Malta’s economy too – at a much larger level than the cost it would incur to develop the additional land. And let’s not forget that these high-value opportunities are simply put, collateral benefits reaped whilst amortising our waste issues! “One has to keep in mind the eventual use of the land reclaimed” he added. “Will it be a parking area or real estate.. is it going to be greenery or a yacht marina? So the ideas are a mix. And the key detail in all this is how deep the sea is at that spot. Land reclamation is more easily viable where the waters are shallow, and the reverse is obvious where it is not… and one must also consider that today’s know-how and new achievements in construction technology are opening us to new processes and possibilities every day,” he added.
“Rather than a simple submission request for expressions of interest, I have tasked the ERA to show us the way and to come up with very precise and specific proposals and this will give us a rather more professional outlook on the matter. ERA has all the necessary information about the seabed so we can trust in their judgement.” As we continued to discuss the topic, it became clear that the Minister has a very clear vision of the way forward. He opined that naturally there are other ways of recycling these construction materials and that “we are considering passing legislation to prompt the use of recycled materials when it comes to the granting of permits, thereby further reducing the need of quarry space. Developers should be encouraged to use recycled material as much as possible. So the emphasis here should be that they would not ruin the material they already have in hand.
ERA has already been instructed to concentrate on these ideas too. A case in point is that stone can be recut for further use too and developers need to be made aware of ,the importance of so doing,” added Dr Herrera.
THE VISION OF THE MINISTRY
By the time we had got to this point of our conversation, and having realised the Minister’s great depth of field for the situation under scrutiny, we raised a sort of catch-22 issue – and enquired his opinion on whether the property and construction industries are a benefit or a hindrance to the country and its revenue streams. He replied that having a strong construction industry is necessary for a country’s economic growth but by its very nature can be damaging to industries. An apt example which comes to mind is the hospitality and tourism sectors.
“When I took over this portfolio I quickly realised that there is no quick fix solution to this situation. And yet there are countries where the environment and the population should at first glance border on being in a disastrous situation, and instead, they are beautiful countries; economic paradises.
“Take Singapore as an example,”he continued. “6 million people reside within an area of about 700 km2 (about 1.5 times the size of Malta). They have created artificial parks, islands created out of waste, and are also famous for their gardens – the Singapore Botanic Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage site and ‘Gardens by the Bay’ is a 250 acre nature park of reclaimed land.” It is interesting to note that Singapore was extended by circa 140km – an additional 23% of its previous total size, and is expected to be further extended by 45 km2 within the near future. Dr Herrera added “I am obviously in favour of preserving our Islands’ natural capital and as such I am presently working with the Lands, Planning and ERA Authorities on a policy document to strengthen our resolve on ODZ so that outside development schemes will remain protected. The Minister agrees with high rise developments as long as there is synergy it agrees with the new policies … “The footprint, access to parking, environmentally-conscious inclusions, high quality levels of construction materials used, the inclusion of open spaces, and such factors are incorporated much more efficiently in such developments.
Organic waste is now already generating sufficient energy to supply 6.000 family homes
And therefore, as long as these are planned and erected properly, in zones that are earmarked for high rise developments, I believe in this developmental direction. That said, my Ministry is prioritising on expanding our availability of green areas in the coming years as well.” In fact, looking at the outcome of the launch of the residential separation process for organic waste across the Islands, one can say that Dr Herrera has been proven very right in his foresight. An official press release issued following this launch indicates that around 90 tons of organic waste was collected from 50 localities by 3pm of the first day of the nationwide collection of this organic waste. Environment Minister Jose Herrera was officially quoted as saying that he welcomed the results, saying that a large number of people understood their obligation to separate organic waste, and especially so when it was in their own homes. This is more positive when compared to the average of 21 tonnes of organic waste that was collected daily as part of a pilot project,” he said. Organic waste is now already generating sufficient energy to supply 6.000 family homes, according to Wasteserv CEO David Borg who said that the new collection scheme had fared better than expected, so much so that this is weekly rendering 500 tons of organic waste. This proves that where there is a will there is indeed a way. In the meantime, a Parliamentary Committee for the Environment is reported to be continuing to discuss the next step in the management of refuse to enable refuse that is going into landfill to be transformed into energy. This project, on an investment of €100 million, is expected to be completed in the next legislature. Design & Build sees that these results obtained show that Malta is finally beginning to take the environment seriously. And the path to a cleaner construction industry is now set in stone.
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