Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1506016
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 AUGUST 2023 NEWS SOCIAL media platforms have become a canvas of strewn gar- bage bags, unwelcome rat visi- tors, and a general air of filth as rubbish woes cast a shadow on several communities. The problem appears to be worse in the heavily populated localities in the northern harbour area that are also tourist hotspots. From Gzira to Sliema; St Julian's to Swieqi, mayors and residents have been venting their frustra- tion over the growing problem. In a bid to understand the root of the problem, the daily reality of these localities and the possible solution to the issue, MaltaToday spoke to residents, mayors and MPs on the rubbish crisis facing their localities. The complaints are not new, but the situation seems to have taken a turn to the worse. Photos and videos which have made the rounds on social media show heaps of rubbish, torn black bags and rats scurrying around the streets. Speaking to this newspaper, Italian national Francesco Casar- telli, who lives in Gżira and works in Sliema, said the issue has be- come a daily occurrence. "I walk it to work and back al- most every day, and you always see piles and piles of rubbish, no matter the time of day," he said. Casartelli said the Sliema prom- enade has become a scene of con- trasts. "You see tourists walking around in their bathing suits, tak- ing pictures of the beautiful sea, and next to their feet is an open garbage bag," he said. "It's a waste of so much potential." But what is the root of the problem? Nearly all mayors believe the problems grew when short lets became more and more popular in the affected areas. "80% of problems come from short-let apartments," Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat said. Muscat said the issue had al- ready been flagged to then tour- ism minister Edward Zammit Lewis back in February 2016. Nothing was done then, and the problem has continued to grow, the Swieqi mayor added. "The majority of tourists, espe- cially younger ones, are opting to rent accommodation through apps like Airbnb and booking. com, and normally check-out is at around 10am. You have cleaners who come in, clean the place and must dispose of the garbage bags, as a new group would be coming in at 3pm," he said. "Nearly no apartment has a garbage room, and so what happens? They leave the garbage bags in the streets for who knows how many days." St Julian's mayor Guido Dalli agreed with Muscat's analysis of the problem, stating the prob- lems seem to be worse in tourist accommodation hotspots. "If you go around the areas where there are no tourist ac- commodations, you do not find rubbish," Dalli said. But Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manche feels apartment owners also have the responsibility of in- forming tenants of the rules sur- rounding the proper disposal of rubbish. "Last month, I went on holiday, and the first thing the owner told us was that we had to put the rub- bish out according to the sched- ule, or else we would be fined," Borg Manche said. "How many people do this in Malta?" He said there is no sense of civic pride and connection to the lo- cality in certain areas of the coun- try. "You can see the difference between localities like Mqabba and Gżira." "A lot of these short-let apart- ment owners don't care; all they think about is squeezing every last cent out of the property," Borg Manche said. Sliema mayor John Pillow al- so agreed that many apartment owners lack a sense of responsi- bility. "I sometimes enter apartments during house visits, and I see the old pickup schedule stuck to the noticeboard. Why are we allow- ing this?" he said. Has the new pickup schedule worsened the situation? Last January, the Environment Ministry announced a new do- mestic waste collection schedule. While black bags used to be col- lected three times weekly, they are now being collected twice weekly. Plastic waste collection is also being carried out once a week, rather than twice a week. Some believe the new schedule is to blame for the increase in waste, while other said no matter the number of collections, "igno- rant people will remain ignorant." The St Julian's mayor said the problem has been growing for ag- es, and the schedule has nothing to do with it. "I have been saying the same thing for ages, but no one seems to care," Guido Dalli said. Noel Muscat expressed a simi- lar sentiment, saying people who don't care for the rules, will con- tinue doing so, no matter which system is implemented. "I don't want extra collection rounds, I want people to be re- sponsible and abide by the law," Muscat said. But others feel that a national waste collection system does not make sense, as different localities have different needs. "While a uniform national sys- tem made sense to increase re- cycling; the same system which A rubbish crisis