Hundreds of dead animals picked up from Maltese roads
Eight tipper vans, nine trucks, three mechanical sweepers, a loading van, two refuse vehicles, a skip loader, 10 skips, two vans and two loaders have been bought from the UK for use by the Public Cleansing Department. Photo: Jason Borg
Pigs do not fly, but in Malta you may find their carcasses scattered by the wayside - some 1,000 dead cows, horses, cats, dogs and other animals were collected from the roads between January and June.
Public cleansing employees collected a whopping 9.4 tons of rubbish from the roads alone in the first six months of the year.
Luckily, conscientious citizens do exist and the door-to-door bulky refuse service responded to 8,000 calls and collected 21,000 items. These included 1,635 mattresses, 4,597 household appliances and 4,039 items of furniture. The workers also removed 11,000 posters from the roads.
Maltese arterial roads are set to get a clean sweep after the government invested €428,000 in cleaning equipment, which the Public Cleansing Department will use to cover around 450 kilometres of arterial roads.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino visited to department to see the machinery bought from the UK - eight tipper vans, nine trucks, three mechanical sweepers, a loading van, two refuse vehicles, a skip loader, 10 skips, two vans and two loaders.
In a separate clean-up campaign, more than 47.5 tons of bulky waste was removed from fields and rubble walls in nine towns.
The clean-up, jointly run by the planning authority's enforcement section and the Resources Authority's Parks unit, involved collecting oil drums, white goods and wooden pallets dumped near rubble walls.
Żurrieq ranked as the locality with the largest bulk removed from the countryside after 19.5 tons were collected, followed by 10.5 tons in Qrendi.
The majority of the items in all the localities - 1,755 - were removed by the owners after they received a notification from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Another 381 objects were removed by Parks officials.
One ton of rubbish was removed from Rabat, eight tons from Safi and another four tons from Ħandaq.
In the 226 identified sites, 59 enforcement notices were issued to owners requesting them to clean up their property. There were still 1,996 items that were still not cleared - with Luqa topping the list with 1,188.
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Chrissey Zammit
Aug 7th 2009, 09:35
Ruby Jenner,s comment is spot on.
I have driven behind cars and see the driver and passengers throwing litter onto the roads, without a care in the world. Malta is getting soooooo dirty it is unbelievable, litter litter everywhere, bags of rubbish dumped, beer cans, plastic bottles etc etc; Keep your streets as clean as your houses !!!!!
Norbert Bugeja
Aug 7th 2009, 08:08
Cats ok dogs ok Rats ok.....but.......... i never saw a horse and a cow lying dead in the middle of the road.....
i see this quiet exagerated
Ruby Jenner
Aug 6th 2009, 21:43
I don't understand how it is that Maltese people are fanatical about the cleanliness of their home and their bit of pavement and doorway, all absolutely spotless but do not seem to care about all the rubbish outside, on the beaches, in the countryside and the sea. I find it such a shame as there are some really lovely places spoilt by the amount of rubbish and the problem seems to be getting worse.
r ferriggi
Aug 6th 2009, 16:01
the government/authorities come under alot of attack from many ( myself included) about MANY things.
but regarding rubbish,,,, i have noticed that the countryside in the north of malta has gone from bad to worse.
rubbish is now seen everywhere.
I AM SURE THAT A SECTION OF THE PUBLIC IS DOING THIS ON PURPOSE.
i am quite sure about this becase of the nature of the rubbish that is appearing.
how about increaing the fines and confiscations again?? we only seeem to learn in this way.
it is 2009 and we are going in the wrong direction!! the wardens should concenrate ion the environment and not only intent of booking here and there for the money.
Anthony Formosa
Aug 6th 2009, 14:02
If someone kill a bird all hunters will be blamed, having hundreds of animals killed on our roads, who should we blame for that? this shows the pure hypocrisy of the Maltese.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 6th 2009, 12:45
Nothing pains me more than seeing a cat's remains becoming part of the tarmac! Such a despicable end to a beautiful animal. Such disgusting ways of showing disrespect to their otherwise noble dignity. Animals, too, have dignity. Why shouldn't there be a proper means of disposing of animals? Especially pets? One incinerator, well-manned, would be enough. When are we going to reach the 21st century?
Anthony Slater
Aug 6th 2009, 12:26
Serial numbers from white goods could easily be traced back to the import agents who in turn could identify the original owners via guarantees.
Posters and adverts could easily be traced back to the promoters
It's not exactly rocket science is it?
v.pulis
Aug 6th 2009, 11:54
Sorry! I meant horses! Hoses don't die!
v.pulis
Aug 6th 2009, 10:27
I have come across the occasional dead cat or dog on the roads but cows and hoses?!
Is this the wild West or what?!