A group of residents gathered in Magħtab over the weekend to protest the planned construction of a hazardous waste incinerator at the site.

Chanting “No Ecohive. Save our lives”, the protestors voiced growing concerns about the proposed Thermal Treatment Facility (TTF), which they had already described as a “cancer factory” at a recent public consultation meeting.

The proposed TTF is expected to cover 18,185 square metres of what is currently agricultural land at the ECO- HIVE complex, a project led by the government’s waste management agency.

The plan is to replace the current hazardous waste incinerator in Marsa.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) found that the facility will have a “negligible” impact on air quality but will have a visual impact and result in the loss of agricultural land.

The report also flagged how the plant would affect residents of 18 localities, including Madliena and Tal-Ibraġ, in a 113-square-kilometre area and a six-kilometre radius.

Nationalist Party (PN) MEP Peter Agius and PN MP Claudette Buttigieg joined the protesters.

“Every research that was conducted on an EU level reveals that residents cannot be reassured that this incinerator won’t affect their lives and the lives of the children,” Agius said.

Buttigieg said: “They are going to carry out this project at the residents’ expense. For us, this is unacceptable, and we’re not going to stop here,” Buttigieg said, while urging people to unite in opposition.