Guest Post: The Public Deserves Facts Not Conjectures -The ECOHIVE Project Has Net Environmental Benefits
The article “Toxic Island – This Is Not Conjecture”, which was published, raises serious and unfounded concerns about Malta’s waste-to-energy and thermal treatment projects.
Although it is understood that such projects may raise emotions and fears, it is important that public debate is informed by facts, verified data, and transparent information.
Alarming the public with misinformation is irresponsible.
With over 27 years’ experience in waste management, I currently occupy the position of Chief Operations Officer at WasteServ. I was responsible for a waste-to-energy plant in Beijing, which was five times the size of that being proposed by WasteServ. I was also responsible for the Shanghai hazardous waste incinerator, which is the largest in Asia and more than 10 times bigger than the maximum possible capacity of the Malta plant. I also was Head of Incineration at SUEZ in my home country France, with 15 waste-to-energy plants and eight hazardous waste incinerators under my remit.
Today I felt compelled to set the record straight. The Maltese people deserve piece of mind; people in the vicinity of the ECOHIVE complex should be provided with facts, and Malta’s future generation is owed a future without landfills, one that depends on the best available infrastructure.
Distinguishing the past from the present
Malta’s situation today could not be more different from the story of Corby in the UK in the 80s.
Since then, the regulatory regime and safety controls have reached absolute levels, stimulating the technology to advance remarkably to scientifically exclude negative impacts on human health.
To be precise, every environmental, health, and safety measure surrounding the Malta projects is governed by strict European Union legislation, by the Industrial Emissions Directive, and by continuous environmental monitoring under the direct supervision of the Environment and Resources Authority.
These are not projects born in secrecy or haste. They are part of a national strategy to modernise waste management, protect public health, and reduce our dependence on landfilling.
Environmental integrity and transparency
The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for both the Waste-to-Energy plant and the New Thermal Treatment Facility were conducted by independent consultants and reviewed publicly by ERA in line with the required EU regulatory norms.
They included detailed studies on air quality, health risk, ash handling, water protection, and transport routes.
All findings are public and confirm that emissions will remain well below EU limits.
The facilities will operate with continuous emission monitoring (CEMS), providing real-time data to authorities and ensuring full transparency.
Such studies also confirm that the project will yield net environmental benefits. People may not be convinced that such a large piece of infrastructure can lead to positive impacts. However, this is the full truth. The ECOHIVE investment will eliminate Malta’s reliance on landfilling. The old Maghtab landfill, unlike the projects that are being proposed did not offer advanced safeguards.
Therefore, it can be assured that the projects that are being proposed will not cause negative impacts. They include the most advanced abatement techniques. And they must follow the strictest of EU environmental and health norms, with performance being measured on a live basis. Moreover, they will free Malta of the past negative impacts associated with landfilling.
Safe ash management and transport
Let’s be clear: there will be no open cooling, no uncontrolled ash, and no dust dispersal.
Also, what is being referred to in the article as 27,000 tonnes of toxic ash is incorrect.
Incinerators produce two types of ash: fly ash, which is regarded as hazardous; and bottom ash, which after rigorous treatment and testing can be reused as a material such for example in road aggregates.
Fly ash, which at full capacity will approach the 3,500 tonnes (not 27,000 as indicated in the opinion), is collected in sealed containers, stored in enclosed negative-pressure areas, and exported to licensed treatment centres within the EU under the Basel Convention.
Transport is only carried out by certified operators in sealed vehicles, in line with EU ADR safety rules. And workers operate under strict occupational health standards, the same as those used across Europe.
Clean energy and sustainability
The Waste-to-Energy facility being proposed will transform residual, non-recyclable waste into green electricity, enough to cover 4.5 per cent of Malta’s baseload energy needs.
It will also significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as every tonne of waste incinerated under controlled conditions replaces methane produced by landfills, a gas 25 times more harmful to climate than CO₂.
This is not about profit. It is about public health, environmental responsibility, and national resilience.
Public health remains non-negotiable
Every element of the project, from design to operation, has been reviewed by environmental, technical, and public health authorities.
The EIA studies confirm no health risk to residents.
This is why the EU’s own environmental framework continues to support advanced waste-to-energy solutions as part of a circular and safe waste strategy, provided they meet BAT (Best Available Techniques) standards, which these facilities do.
Our commitment
At WasteServ, we believe in transparency and accountability.
We invite everyone to review the environmental reports and data available on ERA’s website.
We also welcome constructive dialogue, based on facts, not fear.
The transformation of Malta’s waste system is not just an infrastructure project. It is a commitment to protect our environment, our air, our water, and the health of future generations.
That commitment remains absolute.
Ing. Hocine Abdelouhab is the COO of WasteServ.
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