Martin Scicluna spoke out (April 26) on the subject of littering and fly-tipping throughout the Maltese islands.

He refers to it as a cultural problem.

In 1972, Hong Kong had a very similar problem. The colonial government introduced a campaign “to inculcate and foster a sense of civic pride”. The campaign centred on a comic character named Lap Sap Chung (rubbish worm). This character quickly became a very popular cartoon cult figure among children (it was promoted in schools) and was very soon known to every citizen of the colony. Lap Sap Chung worked wonders. When an adult dropped litter within the sight of a child, that child would point and say “Lap Sap Chung”.

The campaign was very effective in shaming litterers but the longer term effect on the children of those years has, without doubt, been very positive.

I suggest that a Maltese linguist invent a ‘disgusting worm’ character such as Lap Sap Chung and help promote it in schools. I am sure that, like the Hong Kong children, Maltese children would relish and enjoy a cartoon character of their own to obliquely vilify the litterers, tippers and dumpers that abound in Malta.