I take my daily exercise walk in a still preserved countryside in the San Ġwann/Birkirkara area in the vain hope that I can still breathe some fresh air and enjoy nature.

The path of my walk, unfortunately, comprises a long stretch of tarmac which drivers of all sorts of vehicles use to cut through traffic jams in the main roads at certain times of the day – times which, for obvious reasons, I normally try to avoid.

The pictures above show the unhappy state of this road as a result of unscrupulous dumping of waste things from vehicles by mindless drivers and their passengers. You find every sort of waste on the sides, but mostly food-wraps, plastic bottles, cigarette packs, banana skins and other remains of food, disposable containers of all kinds, and last but not least, electronic material.

To make matters worse, these roads being outside or on the periphery of towns and villages are never swept and so the dirt and waste piles up for months, and even years.

How sad and foolish of us – people renowned for their own personal cleanliness! When will the Maltese learn to be less selfish and love their country as they do their own homes which, as we know, they keep scrupulously clean?

This aspect of our character remains a huge blemish on us and undermines all efforts to make our country a prime destination for tourists.