Well before the onset of summer, most of the countryside turns yellow, leaving very little, if any, patches of green, except for roundabouts. This does not help to brighten up the island’s image, and makes the environment far less attractive than in winter.

What makes the situation worse is the habit of so many people leaving rubbish behind when they spend some leisure time in the country with the family. With the weather now getting hotter by the day, most will soon start heading off to the beaches, often doing exactly the same thing when they leave the place... leaving rubbish behind.

And, of course, it is not just picnickers who leave rubbish behind. Worse culprits are construction workers who dare the authorities and the country every time they empty truckloads of unwanted construction material in easily accessible places. Few would have been shocked by the picture carried in Times of Malta a few days ago showing the rubbish left over by campers at L-Aħrax in Mellieħa. For the truth is that many have become immune to seeing such scenes.

Yes, it is wrong to generalise. Progress has been made in the effort to keep the country clean and, in terms of embellishment, the advance made, especially in public places, is indeed noteworthy. The flower beds here and there have made a great difference in a number of public places.

However, there are still miles to go before the country gets cleaned up. The major challenge is to keep the country clean all the time.

It is not just in Mellieħa where campers leave rubbish behind but practically everywhere people congregate. Just take the Dwejra route to the Victoria Lines, for example. Many of those picnicking there in winter leave a mess behind as do others in so many other localities. In Mellieħa, the local council spends €40,000 a year to clean up the camping area twice a week. This is quite a lot, money the council could probably use far more profitably elsewhere. The problem is that the council cannot afford to pay for wardens to ensure that campers follow the rules.

So, here lies the crux of the matter. What comes first, educating people in their duty to keep their local environment and the country clean or beefing up enforcement? In reality, both should be tackled at the same time.

Civic education ought to be taken up with greater vigour and government exhortations to the public to keep the environment clean would need to be done far more often, certainly not just when an administration decides to carry out a particular clean-up campaign once or twice a year.

If the council in Mellieħa cannot afford to have a green warden to supervise the sites, the probability is that other councils are in the same situation. Maybe they would need to juggle with their priorities first to see what is needed most in their work and maybe too the government ought to step in and see how it could help in cases where, for one reason or another, councils are unable to cope with the removal of rubbish and dumping of construction waste.

With summer just round the corner, the focus of attention ought now to shift to the beaches and coastline. But the work would have to be carried out all the time, not sporadically.