Malta is experiencing a mounting waste crisis, especially during the peak tourist season, leading to public dissatisfaction, especially in important tourist areas.
As a result, the government has been criticised for its lack of action on waste management, with many saying the recent collection system introduced as ineffective and leading to rodent problems.
Recent accounts and social media posts have emphasised widespread frustration due to accumulated uncollected waste in crucial areas like St. Julian’s, St. Paul’s Bay, Qawra, Sliema, and Valletta.
The prevailing problems are unpleasant smells, visible garbage bags, and rodents and cockroaches.
Garbage is consistently present in tourist areas in St Paul’s Bay.
Parliamentary Secretary for Public Cleanliness Glenn Bedingfield blamed the public in a parliamentary sitting earlier this month. He said workers tasked with cleansing and maintenance collect 45 tons of illegal waste daily.
He said a significant amount of waste was being disposed of irresponsibly on non-collection days, stating that it was equivalent to the volume of two large double-decker buses.
He attributed this problem to the lack of compliance from the public and urged citizens to take greater responsibility for waste disposal.
This statement diverts attention from the government’s own failings in effectively managing the waste crisis when it is evident that the system is not addressing the public’s needs.
Speaking to The Shift News, The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) said it conducted daily inspections around the Maltese Islands to ensure compliance with the mandatory waste separation legislation.
The same authority said it conducted evening inspections and inspections targeting known hotspots to maximise compliance.
Other authorities, such as Wasteserv and the Cleansing and Maintenance Division, also conduct inspections. Yet the problem remains.
Reacting to the issue, Sandra Gauci, an ADPD councillor representing St. Paul’s Bay, shared a video on her YouTube channel discussing the situation.
She outlined various potential remedies and stressed the pressing need to educate the public about proper waste management. She expressed her disapproval of the current condition of public areas, likening them to landfills, and emphasised that everyone must play a part in resolving this issue.
The garbage problem persists, as the streets remain littered with visible trash well into the afternoon, suggesting flaws in the collection schedule. This not only impacts the visual attractiveness of the neighbourhoods but also presents health hazards, adding to Malta’s challenge as a sought-after tourist destination.
If people from other countries are used to filth that what they are doing here and goverment is happy cause they are filling their pockets as long as there under priced bought farmhouse is clean
In Crete, small electric garbage trucks empty lined bins in tourist areas at least four times a day… no, smells of rotting food, no roaches nor rats. Simple. Surely, if they cut down on the persons-of-trust in their employ, government agencies can find the money to do this. It really isn’t rocket science.
Same thing in Prague- mini, three wheeler waste trucks checking garbage bins multiple times a day. Seems that our government is incapable of doing the simplest of things.
Blaming the public is NOT an option. Most Maltese citizens comply with the regulations but what about the thousands and thousands of tourists in private accommodation? what the heck do they care? And what about the great number of of foreigners residing here? We’re literally bursting at the seams!
Are you inferring that foreigners who reside here do not care about about proper disposal of waste?
“The prevailing problems are unpleasant smells, visible garbage bags, and rodents and cockroaches.” That’s a perfect representation of the present day Maltese islands; both realistically and figuratively.
This country needs a hard reset and it has to start from Castille.
Is it luck, that we have a little wannabe dictator ROBBER Abela???
➡️ROBBER Abela is responsible for selecting the least capable ministers who seems (like him) obviously more concerned about their bank accounts than Malta.
➡️ He has his hands full solving problems that we wouldn’t have without him.
➡️ ROBBER Abela is responsible for making sure things don’t work and and seems to help that the police commissioner and the AG to prevent the sore bums from becoming infected.
➡️Oops, where ROBBER Abela gone again?
Does someone know?
What does MP Bedingfield expect from people who use our streets as public convenience,he must have seen what happened at Swieqi. Truth is we have a totally corrupt and incompetent govt
Guys, it is really simple. Wheelie bins. Nowhere else in the developed world are plastic bags left directly on the street for vermin to feast.
I appreciate some narrow streets with narrow paths this may not be feasible but many houses and flats have the space to store these bins.
The big advantage iss that you don’t have to wait for collection day to put waste outside. We all know in the Maltese heat it is impossible to keep waste in the house for too long.
I am visiting Malta as a tourist in October and I find that there is too much trash on the beaches, in the bushes along the trails, along the roads. Too many plastic bottles, plastic cups, aluminum cans abandoned in nature. In fact I am shortening my stay because there’s no point in swimming or hiking with so much pollution from single use plastics. Instead I found the towns like Mdina quite clean… But I am more worries about the pollution in nature, which seems to be really too much.