Wasteserv today inaugurated Malta's first Autoclave in Marsa with an investment of €12m. This is another milestone for Wasteserv in its effort to create a sustainable waste strategy for the Maltese islands.

Speaking at the launch of the Autoclave, the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, Leo Brincat said that "today we are inaugurating a project which will facilitate the processing of animal waste in Marsa. This €12m project, of which 85% were EU funds, is equipped with the latest technology. Through the development of this project not only will Wasteserv be reducing its dependency on the incinerator but will be giving waste management better environmental credentials."

The Minister added that, "up to today, when the incinerator is undergoing maintenance the process of incineration would have had to stop and all carcasses would be stored in freezers until the incinerator is back in operation. With this state of the art project the process will continue seamlessly. Another advantage of this project is the small footprint especially when the volume of waste that will be processed is taken into consideration. "During the inauguration the Parliamentary Secretary for the EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds Ian Borg explained that this project had qualified under the European Regional Development Fund with an allocation of almost €12 million. This project involves the construction of a Rendering Plant for the treatment of animal waste for a better system of operation.

Borg has expressed his satisfaction that in these last years the present Government is working towards a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and this project is expected to contribute towards reaching Malta's commitment to achieve our goal which is that of 5%.In his address Wasteserv Chairman, David Borg said, "following last month's inauguration of the Waste Transfer and Materials Recovery Facility in Gozo, this is another important milestone for the company in its drive to improve and modernise the infrastructure for waste management in our country. The opening of the autoclave will help to reduce dependency on the Marsa Incinerator as well as cut down on odour and pollution, lower energy and fuel consumption, decrease current incineration expenditure and overall have a positive effect on climate change."

Although it is based in Malta, the Autoclave will also treat animal waste generated in Gozo, as well as process other waste considered hazardous. The development of the Autoclave cost €12m which was partly financed through the European Regional Development Fund and built according to the established Green Procurement Procedures.

In his address Wasteserv CEO, Tonio Montebello explained that, "This plant will result in substantial savings in fuel which is currently used to operate the incinerator. This is due to the extraction of tallow (animal fat) through the autoclaving process which is then used in the incinerator as fuel, thus creating resources from waste. The plant will also enable the treatment of expired foodstuffs which will be processed before it is sent to the Sant'Antnin recycling plant for further treatment in the Mechanical Biological Treatment plant to obtain more resources which include energy generation."

"With this plant, Malta will therefore have two independent facilities that can treat Animal By-Products: the Incinerator and the Autoclave. Waste will be treated without odour release into the environment and waste water will be reused instead of being disposed in the sewers without any pre-treatment. Energy released from the plant will also be used to produce hot water for washing purposes."

The Autoclave will treat Animal By-Products (ABPs) from the civil abattoir and private slaughter houses currently totalling 6,000 tonnes a year. Of these, approximately 307 tonnes will originate from Gozo. The plant will also enable the treatment of animal waste, once this waste is processed, waste will be transferred to the Thermal Treatment Facility for incineration or sent through for further treatment.

This project will also contribute towards reaching Malta's target to reach 5% reduction on greenhouse gas emissions and 10% of total energy consumption and generation of renewable energy resources, Wasteserv said.

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