Il-Kummissarju Ewropew Jessika Roswall iżżur WasteServ: trasformazzjoni fl-immaniġġjar tal-iskart li sservi ta’ ispirazzjoni madwar id-dinja
Il-Kummissarju Ewropew għall-Ambjent, ir-Reżiljenza tal-Ilma u l-Ekonomija Ċirkolari Kompetittiva, Jessika Roswall, illum żaret WasteServ, fejn setgħet tara l-progress sinifikanti li qed isir fis-settur tal-immaniġġjar tal-iskart f’Malta, kif ukoll l-isforzi kontinwi biex tissaħħaħ it-tranżizzjoni tal-pajjiż lejn ekonomija ċirkolari.
Iż-żjara saret fil-preżenza tal-Ministru għall-Ambjent, l-Enerġija u l-Indafa Pubblika, Miriam Dalli, u l-Kap Eżekuttiv ta’ WasteServ, Richard Bilocca. Flimkien żaru diversi faċilitajiet fi ħdan WasteServ, fosthom il-Kumpless ECOHIVE fin-Naxxar.
Il-Kummissarju Roswall bdiet iż-żjara tagħha fl-ECOHIVE Academy f’Marsaskala, fejn setgħet tara mill-qrib l-inizjattivi edukattivi ta’ WasteServ. Permezz ta’ logħob interattiv u kontenut informattiv, l-Academy tippromwovi l-prinċipji tal-ekonomija ċirkolari b’mod divertenti u aċċessibbli, b’mod partikolari fost it-tfal u ż-żgħażagħ. Il-Kummissarju enfasizzat l-importanza tal-edukazzjoni, speċjalment f’età żgħira, biex wieħed jitgħallem kif l-iskart jista’ jinbidel f’riżorsa ta’ valur.
Il-Kummissarju setgħet ukoll tara l-proġetti infrastrutturali li tlestew matul dawn l-aħħar snin, kif ukoll dawk li bħalissa għaddej ix-xogħol fuqhom, b’mod partikolari l-Proġett ECOHIVE.
Meta jidħol fis-seħħ, il-Proġett ECOHIVE se jittrasforma l-mod ta’ kif Malta timmaniġġja l-iskart tagħha, b’tnaqqis sinifikanti tal-iskart li jispiċċa fil-miżbliet, filwaqt li jinħolqu riżorsi ta’ valur. Iż-żjara serviet ukoll bħala opportunità biex jiġi enfasizzat kif titjib tanġibbli fl-operat, flimkien ma’ ppjanar strateġiku fit-tul, qed iwasslu għal bidla fl-immaniġġjar tal-iskart madwar il-pajjiż.
“Kienet esperjenza ta’ ispirazzjoni li żort proġetti f’Malta li jippromwovu t-tranżizzjoni lejn l-ekonomija ċirkolari, u rajt mill-qrib kif l-iskart jista’ jinbidel f’riżorsa. Dan mhux biss huwa importanti għal Malta, iżda jirrappreżenta wkoll opportunità għall-Ewropa. L-ekonomija ċirkolari hija t-triq biex nibnu r-reżiljenza, speċjalment fid-dawl tal-eskalazzjoni tal-kunflitti madwar id-dinja biex jinkiseb aċċess għal materja prima, kif ukoll il-bidliet ġeopolitiċi kbar li qed iseħħu madwarna. Iċ-ċirkolarità hija l-uniku mod kif nistgħu nħarsu l-ekonomija tagħna mill-isfidi tal-futur. Aħna niddependu fuq pajjiżi oħra għal aktar minn 90 fil-mija tal-materja prima kritika, iżda nirriċiklaw inqas minn 1 fil-mija. Għalhekk, aktar tard din is-sena se nippreżentaw l-Att dwar l-Ekonomija Ċirkolari, li se jkun il-qafas Ewropew li jippermettilna nibnu suq uniku ġenwin għal materjali ċirkolari,” qalet il-Kummissarju Roswall.
Il-Ministru Miriam Dalli qalet: “L-investimenti li qed jagħmel dan il-Gvern u l-politiki li ġew implimentati matul l-aħħar snin qed iwasslu għal bidla konkreta. Mhux biss qed nimmaniġġjaw l-iskart b’mod aktar effiċjenti, iżda qed nibdluh ukoll f’riżorsi ta’ valur. Iż-żjara tal-lum uriet l-impenn ta’ WasteServ għal titjib kontiwu u investiment fl-innovazzjoni u fl-edukazzjoni għal aktar sostenibbiltà fis-settur tal-iskart, sabiex tappoġġja l-objettivi ambjentali u klimatiċi usa’ ta’ Malta.”
Fid-diskors tiegħu, il-Kap Eżekuttiv ta’ WasteServ, Richard Bilocca, qal: “WasteServ tibqa’ kommessa li twassal ambjent aħjar għall-ġenerazzjonijiet futuri. L-edukazzjoni, b’mod partikolari fost it-tfal, tibqa’ fiċ-ċentru tal-isforzi tagħna. It-tfal tagħna huma l-motivazzjoni wara x-xogħol li nwettqu ta’ kuljum fil-faċilitajiet tagħna, u aħna determinati li nħallulhom ambjent aħjar minn dak li writna. Permezz ta’ investiment kontinwu u d-dedikazzjoni tat-timijiet tagħna, nibqgħu ffukati bis-sħiħ biex inwettqu l-istrateġija ambizzjuża ta’ Malta fil-qasam tal-immaniġġjar tal-iskart.”
Matul iż-żjara tagħha, il-Kummissarju Roswall ġiet infurmata wkoll dwar il-progress li qed isir fuq il-proġett li se jittrasforma l-faċilità tal-iskart ta’ Sant’ Antnin f’24,000 metru kwadru ta’ spazju miftuħ għall-pubbliku, li jirrappreżenta investiment totali ta’ €37 miljun.
European Commissioner Jessika Roswall visits WasteServ: a waste management transformation that should serve as inspiration around the world
European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall visited WasteServ, where she was shown the significant progress being made in Malta’s waste management sector and the ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s transition towards a circular economy.
The visit was held together with Minister for the Environment, Energy and Public Cleanliness Miriam Dalli andWasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca. Together, they toured key WasteServ facilities, including the ECOHIVE Complex in Naxxar.
Commissioner Roswall began her visit at the ECOHIVE Academy in Marsaskala, where she was introduced to WasteServ’s educational programmes. Through interactive and engaging learning experiences, the Academy promotes waste management and circular economy principles in a fun and accessible way, particularly for children and young people. The Commissioner noted the importance of education, especially at a young age, in demonstrating how waste can be transformed into a valuable resource.
The Commissioner was then given an overview of the waste management infrastructure projects that have alreadybeen implemented, as well as those currently in the pipeline across WasteServ’s operations, with particular focus on the ECOHIVE Project.
Once fully implemented, the ECOHIVE Project will transform the way Malta manages its waste, significantly reducing landfilling while creating valuable resources. The visit also served as an opportunity to highlight how tangible operational improvements, combined with long-term strategic planning, are reshaping waste management practices across the country.
“It was inspiring to visit on-site projects in Malta that promote the transition to circularity and I have seen on the ground how waste can be turned into a resource. This is not only important for Malta but also an opportunity that Europe has to seize. The circular economy is our path to build resilience, especially given the scale of conflicts around the world to access raw materials and the very big geopolitical shift taking place around us. Circularity is the only way to futureproof our economy for the challenges ahead. We depend on other countries for more than 90% of critical raw materials, but only recycle less than 1%. That is why we will present the Circular Economy Act later this year, this will be the European framework that will allow us to build a genuine single market for circular materials,” said Commissioner Roswall.
Minister Miriam Dalli stated: “The investments introduced by this Government and the policies implemented overthe past years are proving to be a real game changer. We are not only managing waste more efficiently but also transforming it into valuable resources. Today’s visit underlined WasteServ’s commitment to continuous improvement, innovation and education as key drivers in achieving sustainable waste management and supporting Malta’s wider environmental and climate objectives.”
Commenting on the visit, WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca said: “WasteServ is fully committed to delivering a better environment for future generations. Education, particularly among children, remains central to our efforts. Our children are the motivation behind the daily work carried out at our facilities, and we are determined to leave them a better environment than the one we inherited. Through continued investment and the dedication of our teams, we remain fully focused on delivering Malta’s ambitious waste management strategy.”
During her visit, Commissioner Roswall was also shown the progress being made on the project to transform theformer Sant’Antnin waste management facility into 24,000 square metres of green public open space, representing a total investment of €37 million.
