A total of 425 kilos of waste, ranging from plastic bottles to fishing rope to household appliances, was recently collected in a corporate social responsibility event at the Marsaxlokk Saline Marshland Nature Reserve.

The skip was filled to overflowing after just two hours.

The waste was collected in just two hours by 30 employees from recruitment consultancy firm Konnekt Search and Selection and website design and development firm PreeoStudios. The volunteers hand-picked the waste and filled 71 garbage bags, which were disposed of in a skip sponsored by Marsaxlokk local council.

Prior to the clean-up, a Nature Trust representative gave the participants a presentation about the site’s ecological importance, and the mayor of Marsaxlokk thanked them for their contribution.

The clean-up, which was co-ordinated by Nature Trust, was covered by a permit as the saline marshland area is a Natura 2000 site of EU ecological importance. It was declared protected and given its status as a nature reserve in 1983. However it is in dire need of conservation measures and the appointment of a managing body by the Planning Authority.

There are only six sites in the Maltese islands that host a saltmarsh habitat in a relatively good state and the rarity of saline marshlands makes them an even more valuable component of the islands’ natural heritage.