6 comments so far.Large quantities of rubbish collected in clean-up day at il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk
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Large quantities of rubbish which over the years has been washed up along the shore and into the salt marsh of il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk were collected by employees of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), who teamed up with the Malta Ramblers Association in a Clean-Up Day initiative.
Employees from the Authority’s various units together with volunteers from the environmental non-governmental organization Ramblers Association, warmly welcomed the invitation and volunteered to participate, in order to re-pristine il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk, more commonly known as il-Maghluq ta’ Marsaxlokk.
A Natura 2000 site, il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk, is today one of the last remaining coastal salt marshes in the Maltese Islands and is considered as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The site 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.
Johann Buttigieg, MEPA CEO said, “as an organisation we keep promoting, amongst our employees, the need and importance, for collective environmental responsibility and action. Through similar environmental initiatives which the Authority organises for its employees throughout the year, such as last September’s MEPA Car Free Day, we keep promoting a culture of Words in Actions.”
He added “through these initiatives we try our best to encourage other business organisations to adopt similar practices and organise environmental ‘hands on’ programmes for their staff. This can only result in creating a better awareness and civic duty in respecting our environment.”
During this Clean-Up Day, volunteers from MEPA and the Ramblers Association removed large quantities of waste found on site, which was disposed of at the Hal-Far Bring-in Amenity site.
“We are proud to have actively supported this pro-environment activity which was initiated by MEPA because one of the objectives of the Ramblers’ statute is to generate a culture of environment awareness and respect amongst the public. It is the responsibility of every citizen to ensure that sites such as Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk remain clean for visitors to better appreciate and enjoy the site’s biodiversity.” Ramblers’ representative Mr Alex Vella said.
A big Thank you for the cleaning up.
Does MEPA really think that a few hours spent picking up plastic bottles offsets the years of destruction of the heritage and environment of Malta? The best Christmas present JM could give to the country would be to sack the lot of them and replace them with a proper authority that actually understood what the ‘E’ stands for!
The wearst destruction that Mepa ever did is, that large cemetery of 635 tombs on an aquifer that produce 2000 boozers of natural fresh water every year. It is for sure that the letter E doesn’t mean noting at all . What a shame is for Mape and the Gozo church .
Does this mean that everyone’s water in Gozo is contaminated?
The answers is YES! Gozitan water taste vial at the best of times.
That is gross! Also, the fact remains that the old main pipes that water runs through to
reach the pipes in peoples houses and flats are reported to be contaminated by asbestos since they are so old. This is the among the first issues that need to be taken care of for the sake of peoples health and safety. People should speak up about this or report the old pipes to the EU .