425kg of waste collected in weekend seabed cleanup

Around 61 garbage bags full of plastics, polystyrene, ropes, jerry cans and pipes were collected during a weekend cleanup on the south coast by the Coast is Clear Foundation.

The environmental NGO started with a cleanup on Friday afternoon along the Delimara coastline, where the team cleared 14 garbage bags of waste, including plastic bottles, polystyrene and ropes.

“The filthiest area we encountered was the Delimara coastline, which receives a huge amount of plastics from the fishing industry, the tankers as well as garbage discarded negligently by the markets,” the Coast is Clear founder Mark Galea Pace said.

Bags of waste collected along the Delimara coastline by the volunteers. Photo: Mark Galea Pace

"Then there are those special or sensitive areas like Blue Grotto or the nature reserves like Filfla, which don't receive huge amounts of garbage, but every little bit of plastic can be so detrimental to the ecological system."

On Saturday, the team spent the morning off the Delimara coastline, before heading off to the Blue Grotto area and the deep waters off Filfla. 

Galea Pace said over the two days, the team collected 425kg of waste, pointing out how the lightest waste items, such as microplastics and polystyrene, are the most harmful to the marine system. 

Plastic bottles, ropes, and other items the volunteers came across during the sea clean up. Photo: Mark Galea Pace

He said both clean-ups included a record 915 plastic bottles collected by the NGO. Amongst the waste, the team also discovered dead shearwater seabirds in the sea. 

The clean-up was funded by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and supported by the Marsaxlokk local council and the Alfred Mizzi Foundation.