Clean sweep? Never ending

A car bonnet, a number of old mattresses and some broken down television sets were among the waste collected by the Cleansing Services Department over the past few days at Fomm ir-Riħ and Marsa.

In Marsa, 12 workers spent two days cleaning up to 30 tonnes of illegally-dumped waste. At Fomm ir-Riħ the waste was removed from around the cliffs of the picturesque site.

Mario Rodgers, the director of the Cleansing Response Programme, explained that dumps on arterial roads are cleared immediately but other areas are the responsibility of local councils.

He said that complaints received by the public are forwarded to the local councils responsible but, if no action is taken after two weeks, the cleansing response team goes on site and clears the dump.

He explained, that keeping the streets clean is everyone's responsibility. Despite the works that were carried out, after just a few days, Coal Wharf in Marsa has already been refilled with dumped plastic and construction waste, he lamented.

Reports of dumped waste can be sent via e-mail to customercare.cleansing@gov.mt or by phone to 8007 6608.