I would like to express my concern about how household garbage is collected in Malta.

I have been living in the country for nearly four years now. I love every bit of it and it is impossible not to acknowledge the massive and continuous progress that the Maltese islands are going through.

I am glad my career brought me here and I am ever so thankful to Malta for hosting me and my family and for the opportunities offered to us. I would not be as happy if I was still living back in my native country.

The fact that this country is so forward thinking makes me like it even more so I hope this complaint of mine will be heard and approached in the right way.

It is unbelievable that in this day and age garbage is still dropped in streets or on pavements and is only collected a few hours later (in the very best case scenario).

During the time the garbage is left unattended in the streets, alley cats make a real mess of the bags. Furthermore, liquid often leaks out of the bags. The result is that the streets stink and are full of food waste.

One morning, for example, I brought down my organic garbage at 6.20am, when I left for work. The garbage truck usually passes by for collection between 7.30 and 8am.

At 8am I received a message from my neighbour informing me what the cats had done to the pile of garbage that was there.

In my country, organic waste is gathered daily in a dedicated bin located in each building, rather than randomly piled up at the entrance of a building.

This solution has proven to be quite effective. Tenants are no longer forced to bring down the garbage shortly before the truck comes to collect it, the garbage is better handled by the bin men who can now lift the whole lot at once rather than having to pick up individual bags, and alley cats can no longer tear the bags and spread the organic leftover all over the place. And whole area is generally cleaner.

I wish the authorities in Malta would come up with a sustainable plan for garbage collection.