Malta's latest dumping sites

A tatty mattress is the latest addition to the many dumpsites dotting the tourist and nightlife area of Paceville and St Julian's. This sorry situation has escalated in recent months when tourist arrivals increased drastically and so has the litter in the streets. The whole area is a complete mess. Every nook and cranny is packed with litter and every building site becomes a dumping site in just days. I work for a language school and lead an orientation walk every Monday. It has become one of the most embarrassing experiences of being Maltese.

The local authorities are not only to blame - so is the local business community. Unfortunately establishments' managements are failing to realise that degraded environs will, in the long term, affect their business. One cannot visualise the extent of the problem from one's fancy car or office, but one needs to walk the streets and see them from the tourists' eyes.

It is our country, our businesses and our reputation that are suffering from this degraded environment. As things are done at the moment, all public cleansing is being conducted by the local council with help from the Malta Tourism Authority during the peak season months. This is not enough. Committees should be set up and businesses pool a fraction of their earnings to contribute to more cleaning. This will not be an expense but an investment.