A massive art installation depicting Christ, made up of 4,000 plastic bottles collected during clean-ups across Gozo, was unveiled yesterday on Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary grounds in Gharb.

The work of art was created by Maltese environmental artist Joseph Barbara to raise awareness and encourage action against plastic waste. Volunteers as young as five and as old as 76 turned out for clean-ups that are regularly being done in Gozo.

The art installation will be on show for three months and was made from drinks bottles recycled by residents or picked up in clean-up activities around Gozo organised by the Cast-Out project founded by Jo Curtis, TV producer and Cast-Out project manager, and run with the aid of campaign partner and facilitator Neil Purssey.

The rain mercifully holding off for a dramatic first sight of this one-of-a-kind art installation in Malta against the backdrop of the beautiful Gozitan countryside.

Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri, Cast-Out project founder Jo Curtis, artist Joseph Barbara, and the Head of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Malta Mario Sammut, joined project supporters and participants for the inauguration.

“The European Parliament Office in Malta has endorsed the Cast-Out Project because it reflects two elements which the European Parliament holds dear: a community spirit and the commitment towards a better environment,” said Dr Mario Sammut, Head of the European Parliament’s Office in Malta.

He gave an insight into the European Union’s policies in relation to the EU Plastics Strategy, including the ban on single use plastics, the move to stop the unloading of plastic waste on countries in the developing world, the requirement to integrate recycled plastic in plastic bottles, and the drive towards a circular economy.

The Cast-Out project is being funded by the Ministry for Gozo, and supported by the European Parliament Liaison Office in Malta, the Queen Mary University of London Malta Campus, and the Melita Foundation among others.

The European Parliament Liaison Office in Malta said that it is fully supporting the Cast-Out project, a community-based initiative that exemplifies the spirit of together.eu. This project is not only raising awareness of the plastic waste littering our islands, it is taking action, by community-based clean-up operations, and turning trash into art.

The European Union produces more than 2.5 billion tonnes of waste every year. To counteract this, the EU has banned since July certain single-use plastic items from being placed on the EU Member States’ markets, and marking requirements are in force for products allowed.

The EU is also currently updating its legislation on waste management to promote a change in how we produce and consume with the new circular economy action plan that includes proposals on more sustainable product design, reducing waste and empowering consumers (such as a right to repair).

The European Parliament is demanding additional measures to achieve a carbon-neutral, environmentally sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular economy by 2050, including tighter recycling rules and binding targets for materials use and consumption by 2030.

These measures are part the European Green Deal, a set of policies and legislative measures aiming to better protect the environment and reduce climate change.

Action against climate change is once again top priority for 43% of EU citizens, as the latest EP flash Eurobarometer survey in September shows. For the Maltese, action against climate absolutely tops the priority list with 64% backing it.

Maltese and other Europeans taking part in the European Citizens’ Third Panel this weekend are in fact tackling action against climate change and for the environment at the European Parliament as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Everyone can participate in this by taking part in the discussion through the climate change forum on the Conference’s online platform.

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