With reference to the article entitled 'Skart Kontaminat Bil-COVID-19 jinġarr Malta b' falsifikazzjoni ta' dokumenti' and featured with prominence on 'Il-Mument' of Sunday 06 September 2020, WasteServ would like to note the following.
Clinical waste is processed at the Thermal Treatment Facility in Marsa in line with applicable standards. Such waste is carried in specialised sealed trucks. The waste is placed in sterilized bags by the hospital authorities, which bags are then placed in specialised yellow closed bins. These bins are collected closed by WasteServ and upon receipt, the operative disinfects the exterior of the clinical bins. The bins are then placed in the trucks and are ferried to the treatment facility. This process follows a Standard Operating Procedure that is also based on risk assessments with the latest carried at the beginning of April 2020.
Such measures. together with a host of others across the entire operation chain, are intended to ensure safe operations and the wellbeing of the operatives handling the waste.
Back in April 2020 the same media house had also alleged that WasteServ did not offer the required safety equipment in Gozo; an allegation that resulted to be completely unfounded.
Media houses are encouraged to exert prudence during these sensitive times especially in relation to the relentless work of front-liners such as waste management employees who are offering an essential service to the country.
The allegations put forward this time are also unfounded. Firstly, in no way does WasteServ try to conceal the contents of the truck: in fact, such trucks carry the documents as compiled by the local hospital authorities. Again, it is fundamental to reiterate that clinical waste transportation is carried out according to written protocol which ensures the absolute safety of the operation. With reference to the statement that refrigerated trucks run into regular trouble on the Gozo ferry it is important to highlight that this is also untrue with only an isolated incident in June 2019 when an empty truck was once asked down for reasons completely unrelated to what is being claimed in the Article. The driver of the said truck is no longer engaged with WasteServ.
WasteServ strongly denies that it has bullied any member of its workforce. On the contrary, it ensures a safe working environment whilst also taking the required action against those who, at the detriment of their colleagues, fail to perform their duties.
WasteServ thanks its employees for the sterling work being conducted during the pandemic, when the company not only continued to provide essential waste management services, but also reached various milestones in improved waste recycling and management practices.