Cameras to monitor bring-in sites

There are plans to install more surveillance cameras around the island, this time to watch over bring-in sites which are often misused and the target of vandalism, Environment Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.

The Minister was speaking at a press conference which dealt with waste recycling. The amount of waste collected through bring-in sites doubled this year when compared to the same period between 2003 and 2004, reaching 2.2 million kilos of recyclable waste, he said.

Mr Pullicino said that the government would be commissioning the installation of a host of CCTV cameras to survey bring-in sites. "There are people around who seem to be set on undermining the government's efforts in the environmental sector."

He referred to what seems to be a spate of vindictive illegal dumping which has taken place over the past weeks.

The most recent case took place on Thursday, although the day before the public cleansing department collected 200 fridges, plastic containers and car spare parts from Notabile Road, Attard.

"It seems that the acts are orchestrated," the minister said. "Whoever is acting so stupidly is acting against the public interest and not the government."

He called on anyone with information about these vandal acts to approach the police and recalled that the new littering regulations will come into effect next year following a three-month trial period.

The minister also commented on an information campaign embarked upon by Wasteserv. Some 20 people who were recently on the unemployment registry were given training and will now be visiting some 20,000 households to promote waste recycling and advise on best practice.