ESG wishes to react to the recent media articles on Nature Plant and its potential resumption of activity in Gibraltar. While acknowledging the legal requirement to collect waste oil from ships serviced by the Gibraltar Port, the ESG reiterates its call to the Gibraltar Government to reconsider permitting the practice of treating waste for the oil, marine and process industries in Gibraltar.

Last year’s accident cannot be glossed over as something that simply happened on one unfortunate day. The noxious fumes from the plant during normal operations affected thousands of residents for years. Since the explosion, death of a contract worker, and closure of the Nature Plant and waste oil treatment stopped, air quality in the area has greatly improved and has been recognised as such by the many official agencies connected to environment and port matters.

The ESG can further verify the huge drop in reports received from residents of severe fumes in the area since the tank explosion and hopes the Gibraltar Government will take heed of this.
The group is very concerned that Gibraltar may end up once again being a cesspit for toxic waste from other countries for processing locally. We do not have the land to accomodate such dirty industry without impacting on residential areas and we urge Government to pursue a policy of collection of shipping waste but not of processing