WasteServ tniedi investiment ta’ €75 miljun f’impjant ġdid għall-ipproċessar tal-iskart organiku
L‑impjant il‑ġdid ta’ WasteServ se jkompli jsaħħaħ l‑ekonomija ċirkolari tal-pajjiż hekk kif se jżid l-kapaċità tal-ipproċessar tal‑iskart organiku tal‑pajjiż b’aktar mid-doppju.
Din il‑faċilità l‑ġdida tifforma parti minn investiment ta’ €75 miljun, li madwar €45 miljun minnhom huma kofinanzjati minn Fondi Ewropej. L‑impjant ġie mfassal biex jindirizza ż‑żieda kontinwa fis‑separazzjoni tal‑iskart organiku, li fl‑2025 laħqet rekord ta’ madwar 36 miljun kilogramma.
Il‑proġett tnieda formalment waqt ċerimonja tal‑iffirmar li għaliha attendew il‑Ministru għall‑Ambjent Miriam Dalli, il‑Ministru għall‑Fondi Ewropej Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, u l‑Kap Eżekuttiv ta’ WasteServ Richard Bilocca, biex b’hekk ingħata l-bidu għax‑xogħlijiet fuq dan il‑proġett ta’ importanza nazzjonali.
Il‑Ministru Miriam Dalli qalet, “Il‑faċilità l‑ġdida se tkun parti essenzjali mill‑infrastruttura nazzjonali tal‑iskart. Billi inżidu b’mod sinifikanti l‑kapaċità tal‑ipproċessar, l‑impjant il‑ġdid se jikkumplimenta l‑isforzi kontinwi fis‑separazzjoni tal‑iskart li qed isiru mid‑djar u n‑negozji. Dan l-impjant se jkollu rwol ċentrali fit‑tisħiħ tal‑ekonomija ċirkolari ta’ Malta, filwaqt li jkompli jespandi l‑użu tal‑enerġija rinnovabbli fil‑pajjiż.”
Il‑Ministru Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi qal li dan il‑proġett jirrappreżenta użu effettiv ħafna tal‑fondi Ewropej li qed imorru għall-bżonnijiet tal-pajjiż. “Permezz ta’ dan l‑investiment qed ninvestu f’futur u f’ambjent aħjar, filwaqt li fl‑istess ħin qed noħolqu sors rinnovabbli u nadif ta’ elettriku biex igawdu minnu kemm il‑komunitajiet tagħna kif ukoll l‑ambjent.”
Meta jilħaq il‑kapaċità massima tiegħu, l‑impjant il‑ġdid għall‑ipproċessar tal‑iskart organiku se jsaħħaħ b’mod sinifikanti l‑abbiltà ta’ WasteServ biex tittratta l‑iskart organiku, peress li se jżid il‑kapaċità annwali minn madwar 36,000 għal aktar minn 74,000 tunnellata. Din il‑kapaċità addizzjonali se tippermetti li aktar skart organiku jiġi kkonvertit f’enerġija nadifa, b’żieda fil‑ġenerazzjoni tal‑elettriku rinnovabbli minn 8.5 GWh sa 20 GWh meta mqabbel mal‑faċilità eżistenti.
Simili wkoll għall‑impjant eżistenti, il‑faċilità l‑ġdida se tippermetti li l‑iskart organiku jiġi rkuprat bħala enerġija rinnovabbli u kompost. Madankollu, din ġiet iddisinjata b’mod speċifiku biex timmassimizza l‑effiċjenza permezz ta’ teknoloġija moderna u awtomazzjoni.
Meta spjega dan, il‑Kap Eżekuttiv ta’ WasteServ Richard Bilocca qal: “Dan se jkun impjant modern u lest għall‑futur, iddisinjat biex jadatta għal ħtiġijiet differenti. Qed nimmassimizzaw l‑effiċjenza permezz ta’ teknoloġija moderna u awtomazzjoni. Il-faċilità se tbiddel l‑iskart organiku f’enerġija rinnovabbli u kompost fi ħdan operazzjoni waħda integrata, filwaqt li ttejjeb l‑effiċjenza operattiva, issaħħaħ is‑sigurtà tal‑ħaddiema u tgħolli l-prestazzjoni ambjentali. Tul il‑proċess kollu, l‑iskart qatt ma jiġi f’kuntatt mal‑arja ta’ barra u se joħroġ biss mill‑impjant meta jkun ipproċessat kompletament u ppakkjat f’boroż ta’ kompost lesti għas‑suq.”
Ladarba l‑iskart organiku jasal fil‑faċilità, il‑boroż jinfetħu u l‑materjal jiġi sseparat biex jitneħħew kontaminanti bħall‑plastik. Il‑materjal organiku mbagħad jiġi ttrattat f’diġesturi anerobiċi magħluqa, fejn jiddekomponi b’mod naturali fin‑nuqqas ta’ ossiġnu, u jipproduċi bijogass, sors ta’ enerġija rinnovabbli li jintuża għall‑ġenerazzjoni tal‑elettriku.
Il‑materjal li jibqa’, magħruf bħala ‘digestate’, jiġi pasturizzat f’temperaturi għoljin u pproċessat f’kompost ta’ kwalità għolja. Il‑faċilità l‑ġdida se tippermetti wkoll li l‑kompost jiġi ppakkjat fuq il‑post, lest għall‑użu.
Dan l‑impjant il‑ġdid jirrappreżenta pass importanti ’l quddiem fl‑impenn ta’ WasteServ għall-immaniġġjar tal‑iskart sostenibbli u effiċjenti, hekk kif it‑teknoloġija avvanzata li se tintuża ġiet imtejba matul l-aħħar 10 snin. Huwa mistenni li l‑faċilità titlesta fi żmien sentejn.
Il‑kuntratt li jimmarka l‑bidu ta’ dan il‑proġett ta’ investiment sinifikanti ġie ffirmat bejn id‑Dipartiment tal‑Kuntratti u GreenMed JV.
WasteServ launches major €75 million investment in new organic processing plant
WasteServ’s new organic processing plant will more than double the country’s capacity to treat organic waste, further strengthening Malta’s circular economy.
The new facility forms part of a €75 million investment, with an estimated €45 million co‑financed through European Funds. It has been designed to respond to the continued growth in organic waste separation, which reached a record of around 36 million kilogrammes in 2025.
The project was formally launched during a signing ceremony attended by Minister for the Environment Miriam Dalli, Minister for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, and WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca, marking the start of works on this important national project.
Minister Miriam Dalli stated, “The new facility will be a key piece of Malta’s national waste infrastructure. By significantly increasing processing capacity, the new plant will complement the ongoing waste separation efforts of households and businesses. It will play a central role in strengthening Malta’s circular economy, while also expanding the country’s use of renewable energy.”
Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said the project represents a very effective use of EU funding where it matters most. “Through this investment, we are investing in a better future and improved environmental health, while at the same time creating a renewable source of clean electricity that benefits both our communities and the environment.”
At full capacity, the new organic processing plant will significantly enhance WasteServ’s ability to treat organic waste, increasing annual processing capacity from around 36,000 to over 74,000 tonnes. This additional capacity will enable more organic waste to be converted into clean energy, with renewable electricity generation rising from 8.5 GWh to up to 20 GWh compared to the existing facility.
Like the current plant, the new facility will enable organic waste to be recovered as renewable energy and compost. However, it has been specifically designed to maximise efficiency through modern technology and automation.
Explaining this, WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca said, “This will be a modern, future‑ready plant designed to adapt to changing needs. By maximising efficiency through modern technology and automation, the facility will recover organic waste as renewable energy and compost within a single, integrated operation, while also improving operational efficiency, enhancing worker safety, and delivering higher environmental performance. Throughout the process, waste will never come into contact with ambient air and will only leave the plant once fully processed and packaged into market‑ready compost bags.”
Once organic waste is delivered to the facility, bags are opened, and the material is screened to separate organic waste from contaminants such as plastics. The organic material is then treated in enclosed anaerobic digesters, where it naturally breaks down in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas, a renewable energy source used to generate electricity.
The remaining material, known as digestate, is pasteurised at high temperatures and further processed into high‑quality compost. The new facility will also allow compost to be packaged on site, ready for use.
The new organic processing plant marks a significant step forward in WasteServ’s commitment to sustainable and efficient waste management. The state‑of‑the‑art technology to be deployed has been perfected over the past 10 years, and the facility is expected to be fully operational within two years.
The contract marking the start of this multi‑million‑euro project was signed between the Department of Contracts and GreenMed JV.