Updated 8.10pm, adds Gozo Ministry statement

A clean-up NGO has urged authorities to track tourism flow on Comino as they report an “alarming” volume of waste on the protected island. 

Nadur Nadif is a volunteer group of young Gozitans who organise clean-ups on Comino during the summer months.

They said that despite the island being protected under numerous policies, parts of it have fallen victim to “ negligence, shabbiness and a lack of enforcement”, which prompted them to take action on their own initiative. 

Photo: Nadur Nadif

On a clean-up on August 9, the group noticed that by 8.15 am sunbeds had already been set up on the garigue and despite their best efforts, workers on the island cannot keep up with the volumes of waste being generated. 

“While the cleaners are surely trying their best to manage the tide of garbage generated every day, they are clearly not managing, as the volume of waste keeps increasing at an alarming rate,” they said. 

“The number of bins needed to cater for the number of tourists visiting the island have not only become a hotspot for dumping around them but also a massive eyesore.” 

Photo: Nadur Nadif

The group said that despite ERA publishing a Natura 2000 management plan for Comino seven years ago, which outlines the importance of having a tourism carrying capacity study for the island, this has not yet been implemented, despite repeated promises from Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo. 

While cleaners had added an extra shift to better clean the island, this is clearly not enough to cope with the sheer amount of waste that is being generated by visitors. 

“The system, or lack of it, used in Comino is completely insufficient and inadequate, as it only focuses on the economic aspect,” they said. 

“This lack of planning is not only harming the environment, with the increase in noise, light and general pollution but also the economic aspect. As the shabby and run-down ‘touristic’ areas of the island are negatively impacting the number of visitors.”

Photo: Nadur Nadif

Having visitors in such high volumes cannot continue for another year without a holistic plan for the island, they said, adding that the levels of enforcement must also increase. 

The statement was endorsed by Din l- Art Ħelwa, FAA Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, BirdLife Malta, Għawdix, Wirt Għawdex, Nature Trust and KSU.

In a statement in the evening, the Gozo Ministry said it cleaned Comino's Santa Marija Bay and the Blue Lagoon three times a day to ensure that these bays were kept clean throughout the summer, when they were most visited.

It said that information for June showed that more than 31 tonnes of rubbish was collected. On average, 2,100 sacks were thrown and collected every week.

The ministry appealed to all visitors to the island to respect the environment and the bay.