Sliema is probably the dirtiest locality in Malta, especially during the summer months when all the holiday flats there are rented out and hundreds of students roam the streets.

Black garbage bags are seen everywhere every day, their number increasing substantially on Tuesdays and Fridays when only the grey bags containing recyclable items are collected.

In my opinion, this is mainly the root of the problem as in a locality like Sliema domestic waste bags should be collected seven days a week irrespective of the cost involved. In addition, strict law enforcement should be imposed. For this purpose, plain clothed green wardens should be on the beat fining those who are caught taking out waste bags not within the stipulated time.

Residents could be asked to help by reporting to the council the address of the culprits.

The number of street cleaners needs to be beefed up. With the current complement, the streets are at best perhaps cleaned, if one can say so, every two to three weeks. The cleaners are definitely not doing a good job as they do not bother to collect rubbish lying between parked cars and the pavement.

The present council has been at the helm for practically four months and does not seem to have done much about this matter except to ask the residents to join the council’s broom and spade brigade. Instead of this weak and inappropriate initiative the council should have engaged professional cleaners to tackle the problem and then introduced the above measures.