Paceville finally has a single rubbish collection system, which should put a stop to the accumulation of garbage disposed of at all hours, an issue that has plagued the night-life zone for years.

Before this pilot project started a few weeks ago, each establishment in Paceville had its own rubbish collector, which meant that not only was rubbish being taken out at different times of the day but also that it would be collected at different hours.

"This was not good practice," said the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, who got the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU to have a word with their members.

"If an establishment closes at midnight, it takes out its rubbish then - even though people are in the streets until 6 a.m. - and this is collected even later," Dr de Marco said.

Operators in Paceville are responsible for their own garbage but the system needed to be unified. If this pilot project works in Paceville, it will be rolled out to Buġibba.

It was started in Paceville due to the larger concentration of outlets, which were closer to each other, creating a bigger problem.

Dr de Marco instructed the St Julians local council to issue a bye-law to regulate the time of the disposal of garbage by commercial establishments in order to avoid rubbish accumulating for hours before it is collected.

The MHRA recently heavily criticised the state of tourist prime sites and promenades, which, it said, were littered, with overflowing bins, weeds, broken pavements, gravel, dust and general filth.

The hoteliers criticised those responsible for public cleanliness, insisting they must be held accountable for their "gross inefficiencies and negligence".

The MHRA said this essential service was "non-existent", referring to the situation as "deplorable" and "unacceptable".

It called on the authorities to act with immediate effect and the Resources Ministry reacted instantly, listing the projects it had carried out.