Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/984659
11 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 Dragonflies are fabulous insects and we're lucky to have more than a dozen of these creatures. Lucky, since dragon- flies mostly live not far from fresh water – lakes and streams – of which Malta is very poor. So perhaps it is with mother nature's kind concession that we can enjoy these insect aris- tocrats at all. A handful of the species that occur are red or reddish – at least the males are – and one of the more common of these is the scarlet darter (M. mazzarell skarlat), already starting to appear on the wing as the weather heats up. Scarlet darters are medium-sized as dragonflies go, but still very conspicuous: the male is solid red throughout, eyes and legs included, while the female looks virtually gold-plat- ed. Males are very territorial and promptly see off any other males invading their patch, which is usually a garden pond, a fountain, or a water tank or open cistern in a field. And by the way – and like all dragonflies – the scarlet darter is harmless to people. 610. SCARLET DARTER Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 513: www.foemalta.org/vacancies/1802/ Text and photo Victor Falzon AS part of its newly-launched annual programme, Teatru Malta, Malta's national thea- tre company, commissioned a children's festival, baptising it 'Trikki Trakki Youth Theatre Festival'. The festival, held on Saturday 12 May at The Malta Visual And Performing Arts School (MVPA) in Ħamrun, was directed by actress and TV personality Antonella Axisa. Three leading theatre direc- tors (Josette Ciappara, Chris- topher Gatt and Isabelle Gatt) worked with the students over a three month period through a series of workshops towards the creation of three separate and diverse theatrical pieces, which were played out to the public in different parts of the MVPA school itself on Satur- day 12 May. The shows were devised with the creative in- put of the students under the guidance and vision of the three directors, who all com- mented that the children's performances and creativity exceeded their initial expecta- tions. For more information about Teatru Malta and Trikki Trakki Youth Thea- tre Festival, kindly email contact@teatrumalta.org.mt Teatru Malta's first youth theatre festival Man-made waste generation has exploded in the last 30 years. Single use products like milk cartons, fruit juice in Tetra-Pak bottles, dis- posable shaving blades, and countless other non-durable items are a major problem. Years after they are disposed of, they can still be found in our landfills. But with the Maghtab at its peak, where does Malta's annual 248,784 tonnes of household waste go? The waste cycle is taxing—environmentally, socially, and economically. The economic cost is of running the operation from our taxes is significant. The list of environmen- tal costs includes air and sea pollution, high carbon emissions, and negative impacts on biodiversity and aesthetics. On a social lev- el, citizens suffer foul smells from treatment facilities, the nuisance caused by collection trucks, and much more. All of this means treatment methods cannot be looked at in isolation—the solution needs to be holistic. In addition to this, the physical separation of our islands from mainland Europe limits our recycling capacity and resale opportuni- ties, meaning that recycling companies incur higher costs to transport materials. In a bid to amplify and facilitate the conver- sation, Margaret Camilleri Fenech's research at the University of Malta and Universita' Autonoma de Barcelona has measured ex- isting flows in local waste management and packaged them into a clean visual. The flow charts detail the waste produced by Maltese households, and where it goes, giving a clear snapshot of where we stand, an important tool when planning for the future. Camilleri Fenech reports that 81% of all Maltese waste goes to landfill, a figure much higher than the 70% previously claimed. A new waste treatment facility is drastically changing that picture, reducing Malta's land- fill to 38%. Although this is an improvement, it is far from a solution. These figures should serve as an eye-opener to policy makers. It is a problem with no simple solution, but in the long-term, households and companies simply need to reduce their waste. Malta needs to tackle its waste streams and their sources separately. Policies need to be set for hotels and restaurants, hospitals, the manu- facturing sectors and others depending on the waste they generate. Proper environmental and social account- ing are an absolute necessity, because, whilst Malta's GDP shows vast economic growth, this is not synonymous with enhanced qual- ity of life. Focusing wholly on GDP disregards that the economy profits from the natural, so- cial, and human capital. Many challenges lie ahead. For the full article as published in THINK magazine, visit: https://www.um.edu.mt/ t h i n k / w h e r e - d o e s - i t - g o - a - s n a p s h o t - o f - waste-management-in-malta By Dawn Gilles Where does it go? A snapshot of waste management in Malta