Large quantities of rubbish washed ashore and into the salt marsh of il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk along the years were collected by planning authority employees, who teamed up with the Malta Ramblers Association in a Clean-Up Day initiative.

Employees from the authority’s various units together with Ramblers' volunteers cleaned up il-Magħluq ta’ Marsaxlokk, a Natura 2000 site and one of the last remaining coastal salt marshes in the Maltese Islands.

The site, a special area of conservation has also been scheduled as an Area of Ecological Importance, a Site of Scientific Importance and a Bird Sanctuary.

Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk is surrounded by agricultural land and an artificial embankment and its habitat varies seasonally; it supports rare species including the Sea Rush and the Long-bracted Sedge, as well as a number of invertebrates.