The Planning Authority board has given the green light to an outline proposal for the construction of a new waste-to-energy facility in Magħtab, despite heavy objections from neighbouring councils and environmental NGOs. Between 350 and 400 tonnes of waste will be handled every day at the facility, equivalent to 120,000 tonnes a year. The plant, based around an incinerator, will generate enough electricity to power Mellieħa and Gozo, WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca told the board. Some of this electricity will be used within the plant while the rest will be fed into the national grid. A case officer told the board that an environmental impact assessment had concluded that there will be net environmental benefits will derive from the project. The board voted, by seven votes to two, for the project to be granted an outline development permit. Naxxar mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami and NGO representative Annik Bonello voted against the proposal. Last September, the Environment and Resources Authority gave its thumbs up to the proposed facility that is expected to dramatically reduce waste that cannot be effectively recycled and would otherwise be landfilled. The government...