Stress on recycling

In his letter (December 10), Louis Camilleri suggested that authorities give refunds of 50c for each old appliance, 25c for each tyre and so on. I don't believe that is the solution. No one is going to be "driving trucks in the countryside collecting any fridge, mattress, tyre they can find" for 50c as he suggests.

The solution is better education on what dumping does to the environment and how it affects the tourism industry and stiff fines for those who are caught littering and engaging in illegal dumping.

In the city I live in garbage is only collected once every two weeks and each household is only allowed two large garbage bags every two weeks. Any additional bags incur a cost of $2 each. Bulky goods such as mattresses, old furniture, etc. can also be put out for collection. Recyclable materials are collected once a week. There is no limit on how much recyclable waste you put out for collection. Plastic recycling boxes are provided for glass, plastic and metal bottles and cans, and for paper and cardboard waste. A separate container is provided for compostable food waste. This results in close to 68 per cent of waste diversion from dumps. The city will also pick up appliances for free by calling a special number. Finally, collection stations are available for disposing of building materials, used paint cans, etc.

Maltese people have no excuse to litter and dump considering that garbage is collected daily. The government should launch a scheme to educate the public on the negative impact of littering and illegal dumping and come up with a recycling plan similar to those being implemented in many other countries. Spending millions of liri to collect dumped trash, although necessary, is not a long-term solution.