Twenty tonnes of rubbish have been cleared from eight valleys, which were among 37 identified by local councils as being full of waste.

Last summer, a committee was set up to oversee the clearing and rehabilitation of valleys, and machinery and vehicles were purchased a month ago to help with the work.

Around five kilometres in all have been cleared along Wied Inċita in Attard, the Marsa ditch, Triq il-Wied, Wied iċ-Ċawsli, Wied il-Kbir and Wied is-Sewda in Qormi, Wied Baqqiegħa and parts of Wied Qirda in Żebbuġ.

At Wied il-Kbir, the works also included removal on invasive plants like acacia, which crowd out native trees and shrubs.

The Environment Ministry said that the next valleys to be targetted in the coming weeks would be Wied Ħas-Saptan and Wied Żembaq at the limits of Gudja and Birżebbuġa, Wied Sant’Antnin in Marsascala and Wied Ħesri in Siġġiewi.