Littering is an offence

I notice an increase in the amount of plastic drink bottles littering the island and now washing up with the already unacceptable amount of man-made rubbish ruining much of the shoreline of this lovely island.

The EU ruling on the use of plastic drink bottles may work in parts of Europe where strict anti-littering rules and hefty fines are enforced but it seems to me that enforcement wardens are as rare as "hen's teeth" in many areas of Malta. At least, the glass drinks bottles had a return value and were collected.

It is said that tourists and students are major contributors to littering and this in many areas may be true. However, on arrival in many of the tourist areas what do the visitors see? Plastic bottles, overflowing bins and litter everywhere. Hardly a Littering Is An Offence warning sign or a warden to be seen, which surely encourages a "nobody cares in Malta" attitude.

My wife and I often swim on the left of the Gillieru area in St Paul's Bay. That's when the prevailing wind is not depositing flotsam in the area. The area to the right of the Gillieru is a real eyesore, where the wind has deposited plastic bottles, bags and other festering rubbish trapped between the mooring lines of the small tender boats, spoiling an otherwise picture postcard setting.

Are the local councils so cash strapped that they cannot afford a few hours to clear this flotsam?