
Monday, 18th August 2008 - 13:11CET
New crackdown on dumping and littering
The police, MEPA and local wardens have embarked on a crackdown on littering and dumping as part of a 10-day pilot project to enforce regulations and keep the streets clean.
The exercise is being headed by Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information.
The exercise is intended to be the start of a permanent system of enforcement. More details on this permanent system will be announced at a later stage by the secretariat.
The crackdown which started today will see police, local wardens and MEPA officials working together to come down strongly on those found violating cleanliness regulations, by handing out fines to offenders.
A spokesman for the parliamentary secretariat said that MEPA enforcement officers would be working day and night in both rural and urban areas in an attempt to catch offenders red-handed, especially when it comes to illegal dumping.
Local councils are participating in the project by supplying their wardens for the jobs. The councils were given until Wednesday to inform the secretariat of problem areas in each locality so that these zones could be targeted first.
The exercise will also include ongoing monitoring in areas all over Malta and Gozo.
The secretariat is currently involved in the Local Councils reform process, where cleanliness and upkeep of towns and villages have featured prominently in the consultation process.







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Comments
You just reminded me of a saying by Abraham Lincoln....
You can fool some people all the time..
You can fool all people for some time..
But you can't fool all people....all the time....
And most people are tired of being fooled!!
(apologies for shouting but perhaps they hear this)
wieqfa has become a health hazard where instead of rubbish being collected it is being piled in a corner underneath hundreds of tourists noses!! Maybe our rubbish collector is ejoying a holiday in the company of our local counsil's members?!!!!
Judging by the state of the country, what happened to all the other "crackdowns"?
The truth hurts, my dear brothers and sisters.
My mistake is, that I should have erected this sign at our airport or near the cruise liner terminal.
It's about time that someone realises that dumping and rubbish everywhere is an inlicting pain to this delicate small island.
It seems that like everything else in this country.... ALL HYPE FOR A MONTH OR TWO.....then it all dies a natural death!
Let us hope that we have some consistency and with this campaign as by god we need it.
Vehicles who drop oil should not be allowed on the road. A truck parked at independence avenue is a typical example
First this service is only available once a week so litter could be out on the street for that long, then they come with an already full van and will not take your whole lot of stuff if they consider it too much, but what's worse is that if you happen to be storing it away in your garage or somewhere were it does not litter the public space, you have no choice but to wait for them to come any time between 10am and 3pm. They categorically refuse to call you before they come so you just have to wait. So basically this service is only good for those without jobs, not much to throw away, and don't mind splitting a job in three times!!! Let's not offer what we can't deliver!
have lived herar for 18 years and never seen such a terrible place it is just like a rubbish tip our worse, hope things will improve now that things are being checked out.
It's a tough challenge to change these people's mentality. As mentioned the apporach should one of unannounced spot checks, only in this way can people be scared to litter (since they are so ignorant to understand it's negative ambiental impact). as to Mr Joseph Sammut reg the Guseppe Cali Str, unfortnautely it seems that the Lija local council is only interested in the main square area I have lived in lija for 4 years now and it seems they also forgot about our areas. An Idea on this topic. should the authorities provide a telephone and email where citizens can send information regarding persons littering or areas being abused perhaps they could investigate ? I know it's a major task but in the case of the exhaust emissions it seemed to work.. Let's improve on this and not let it die like many other ideas PLEASE we need a cleaner country..
But, like everything else that takes place in Malta and Gozo, it should be carried out well. By this, I mean that it's easy to start with the small fry and ignore the rampant law-breaking of those who are bigwigs - whether they are employers, businessmen, etc... We have to treat the small fry individual - so easy to slap fines at them, isn't it? - as well as the corporates! I sincerely hope that there will be justice in this sphere.
The only 24 hour Law Enforcement System is run by the Police and it is advisable to call them at the Police Headquarters and then they direct you from there.
As to Mr fenech I again compliment him on his sharpness to detect crime yet to date, the council had no calls regarding any law infrengements. Should it help Mr Fenech I am poublicly forwarding my email address"""abelap01@gmail.com"""" ansd assure him that action will be taken withen 24 hours, while guaranteeing the stricktest of confidence
I have been complaining about a problem area to Sliema & Gzira local councils for about 4 years now. It is a two fold problem area as it is between Sliema and Gzira , Lower St. Albert Str. to be exact right at the end where when you turn right one can find the preston bar and the language school. Why did there have to be a crack down to send wardens when i have been complaining for years. But again it is only a farce. In Maltese we say Biex j**** f'***** bina.
They sent two wardens parked about 6 meters from the site in a MARKED CAR!!!!!!!!
Thank you for nothing.
Talking of Qawra, in our area water and drainage seepage have been prevalent since the beginning of summer. It is obvious to one and all, but not our wardens who are more interested in the quick bucks that flow from their parking tickets in an area where parking is at a premium.
Rubbish is dumped everywhere right on people's doorstep and left there to stink through the whole night (or weekend)
Rubbish Skips are left full for whole weekends and what about dog litter. It is everywhere , dog owners should know better !
And as already mentioned in this thread, all this is happening a corner away from the Warden's Head Office ! How funny eh?!
MTA should also take notice of this fact. This area is populated by tourists who frequent this area for their English schools, so if we want to promote a nice image of our island, Let US do something !
Come down on them like a ton of bricks.
Better still, perform periodici crackdowns unannounced......and publicise it after.
I hope this is true, as the trouble we always have with certain aspects of littering (eg. dog litter) is the result of the lack of wardens after a certain time, with people taking their pets for a walk after sunset. Let's hope this project solves this problem too.
I spend my summer months at xemxija and in order to avoid this problem I go via Xemxija bypass to avoid the mess
as for the wardens, once they are brought out of their hibernation, (forced by the need of votes for the election!) can mr said pse ensure that they are not put on a quota basis for the number of fines they issue!
I wish all the best to those involved and may come the day that the street will become the tidiest in Europe as the insides of our homes.
Manuel Misfud said it all.......As far back as 1977 when visiting Malta and seeing all the rubbish and garbage around, I had stated.......that if fines are given ......hefty fines that is not only will the dumping stops. (hit their pocket-bookjs) but the money collected will pay for the salaries of the wardens....... I know for a fact that American Visits always say.........Malta is Beautiful.......but a garbage dump.
Why are you just blaming language students? As if the Maltese keep their country clean! Please stop pointing fingers to the "foreigners" for this problem every time. Those tourists that litter Malta should be fined heavily in the same way all Maltese should be fined. ( even when they throw away a small piece of paper!) This is a great initiative but like everyone is saying here: THIS TIME PLEASE MEAN IT AND ENFORCE IT, AND NOT JUST FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS BUT PERMANENTLY!!
ONE FIRST SUGGESTION TO WARDENS -MELLIEHA BAY- THE STAIRS LEADING FROM THE CAR PARK NEXT TO PUBLIC TOILETS DOWN TO COSTA DEL SOL BAR, YOU'LL SURELY KEEP BUSY.
After this crackdown, a similar crackdown on uncivilised drivers on our roads would be welcome. Hefty fines to one of those drivers stopping in the middle of St Pauls Bay main road, waiting for their wife to get a load of bread from Giormina, blocking and slowing down traffic including buses, would surely go a long way to teach these drivers what prudence and respect means.
May I suggest that all funds collected through the fines handed out to the various offenders should go towards the funding of the permanent system of enforcement. This will go a long way to convince everyone that the authorities mean business.
hit them hard with fines. These are the same morons. Once they are caught (hopelfully!!!) and there are quite a few of them (so don't tell us you fined half a dozen!!) they should be told that there name has gone into the system and next time the fine WILL DOUBLE ( aplogize for shouting) and the next one will double again and so on and so forth. The vast majority of the citizens are all for this as this is essential health wise, tourism wise etc. What is not essential is when the bumper of your car is 10cm on the yellow line and you are fined!!
Let us get our priorities right, shall we? And by the way, this should be ongoing and not as we usually do by starting something and then we just give up or nobody cares any more.
There are many examples but let us stop here. We shall see if we are determined about this and it is not a matter of bla bla again.
Let us hope this project is given the backing it deserves.