No Mepa decision on Senglea gaming parlour application
Mepa this afternoon put off a decision over whether to grant a permit for a gaming parlour in an old building in the heart of Senglea. The vote was tied two-two with a member of the permits board having been absent. Another vote will be held in the near future. The vote was taken after a 20-minute discussion which was heated at times. The applicants argued that the gaming parlour would put to use a building which was currently unused and dilapidated. The application, they insisted did not infringe any Mepa rule. Objectors said the proposed site is within 60 metres of a Legion of Mary meeting place, and this went against gaming regulations, at which point the applicant said that was not Mepa's remit. Representatives of Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar and Friends of Cottonera Forum argued that gaming parlours were not included in the list of uses for buildings in Urban Conservation Areas and a gaming parlour would lead to an increase in social problems. The applicants insisted these were subjective moral issues which were also not within the Mepa remit.(timesofmalta.com) All this does not seem very clear.
Marsascala double murder - accused denied bail
Joseph (Giuseppe) Cutajar, the man accused of last month's double murder at Marsascala, was denied bail by a court today. He stands accused of the murder of Kevin Gatt,32 of Ghaxaq who died on the scene of the shooting on March 15, and Stephen Zammit, 32 of Fgura, who died in hospital last week. The two were killed in a shootout in a complex of underground garages. Both were in a car.(timesofmalta.com) A killer is in fact not taken lightly.
Recycling: Less waste, but still higher than the EU average
A new report published by the European Commission yesterday explains how top performing member states have recycling rates of up to 70% and bury virtually nothing, whilst other still landfill more than three quarters of their waste. Malta has come a long way since people started separating recyclable waste, but the amount of waste generated is still high compared to that of other EU countries. Numerous campaigns and educational initiatives aimed at raising awareness on the need to manage waste sustainably have been undertaken over the years. Concurrently, there was the development of essential infrastructure such as bring-in sites in every locality, five civic amenity sites for the disposal of bulky waste and the waste treatment plant at Sant’Antnin. Furthermore, the ‘Recycle Tuesdays’ scheme was introduced in 2008 as a means of collecting recyclable household waste on a door-to-door basis. A Wasteserv spokesperson recently told sister newspaper The Malta Independent on Sunday that prior to 2004 and EU accession, all waste in Malta was dumped in uncontrolled landfills. By 2010, the amount of municipal waste taken to local landfills had fallen by 14% and, according to statistics recently published by Eurostat, there was a corresponding increase in the amount of recyclable and compostable waste.(independent.com.mt) Waste recycling is one area that deserves the attention of the State, since the islands are easy to pollute.
Mepa this afternoon put off a decision over whether to grant a permit for a gaming parlour in an old building in the heart of Senglea. The vote was tied two-two with a member of the permits board having been absent. Another vote will be held in the near future. The vote was taken after a 20-minute discussion which was heated at times. The applicants argued that the gaming parlour would put to use a building which was currently unused and dilapidated. The application, they insisted did not infringe any Mepa rule. Objectors said the proposed site is within 60 metres of a Legion of Mary meeting place, and this went against gaming regulations, at which point the applicant said that was not Mepa's remit. Representatives of Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar and Friends of Cottonera Forum argued that gaming parlours were not included in the list of uses for buildings in Urban Conservation Areas and a gaming parlour would lead to an increase in social problems. The applicants insisted these were subjective moral issues which were also not within the Mepa remit.(timesofmalta.com) All this does not seem very clear.
Marsascala double murder - accused denied bail
Joseph (Giuseppe) Cutajar, the man accused of last month's double murder at Marsascala, was denied bail by a court today. He stands accused of the murder of Kevin Gatt,32 of Ghaxaq who died on the scene of the shooting on March 15, and Stephen Zammit, 32 of Fgura, who died in hospital last week. The two were killed in a shootout in a complex of underground garages. Both were in a car.(timesofmalta.com) A killer is in fact not taken lightly.
Recycling: Less waste, but still higher than the EU average
A new report published by the European Commission yesterday explains how top performing member states have recycling rates of up to 70% and bury virtually nothing, whilst other still landfill more than three quarters of their waste. Malta has come a long way since people started separating recyclable waste, but the amount of waste generated is still high compared to that of other EU countries. Numerous campaigns and educational initiatives aimed at raising awareness on the need to manage waste sustainably have been undertaken over the years. Concurrently, there was the development of essential infrastructure such as bring-in sites in every locality, five civic amenity sites for the disposal of bulky waste and the waste treatment plant at Sant’Antnin. Furthermore, the ‘Recycle Tuesdays’ scheme was introduced in 2008 as a means of collecting recyclable household waste on a door-to-door basis. A Wasteserv spokesperson recently told sister newspaper The Malta Independent on Sunday that prior to 2004 and EU accession, all waste in Malta was dumped in uncontrolled landfills. By 2010, the amount of municipal waste taken to local landfills had fallen by 14% and, according to statistics recently published by Eurostat, there was a corresponding increase in the amount of recyclable and compostable waste.(independent.com.mt) Waste recycling is one area that deserves the attention of the State, since the islands are easy to pollute.