Manually cleaning up tons of seaweed washed up on beaches was not viable, the Cleansing Directorate director has said, as the arduous job would require hundreds of workers.
“I cannot fathom how bays like Għadira, where thousands of tons of seaweed are washed up every year, could be cleaned up manually,” director Ramon Deguara told this newspaper.
He was reacting to repeated calls by environmentalists to stop using heavy machinery to clean up seaweed washed up on beaches. Last month, this newspaper reported that heavy machinery was spotted at Għajn Tuffieha Bay as well as at Qbajjar Bay. Environmentalist Alan Deidun told this newspaper the use of such machinery caused irreversible damage to the bays.
According to Mr Deguara, while the directorate had plans to purchase machinery that was more modern than that presently used, he insisted the option of cleaning beaches manually was out of the question.
He said that some beaches are cleaned up manually but only the smaller ones, explaining that mechanical shovels were needed when “a substantial amount of seaweed” washed up in some sites.
We have been using mechanical shovels for many years; this isn’t something that we just started using now
The seaweed could only be cleaned from April onwards, Mr Deguara said, adding that this left the directorate with little time for clean-ups before the summer months.
“As soon as the temperatures start rising, we wouldn’t have enough time to clear up the large amounts of seaweed from all of Malta’s beaches.
“You need to understand that the lido operators put pressure on us to remove the seaweed. Beachgoers also want to enjoy the beaches, so we would be racing against time,” the director went on.
He said weather conditions also affected the amount of seaweed washed up, with beaches having to be groomed regularly, adding that there was still some being washed up – even now in July.
“We have been using mechanical shovels for many years; this isn’t something that we just started using now,” the director said.
When asked about the damage caused to the beaches, he acknowledged this was the case and had been for many years, but insisted cleaning up some bays manually would require hundreds of workers every day and that was impossible. “I think we are aiming too high to say ‘let’s not use any machinery on beaches’,” Mr Deguara said.
Prof. Deidun, who has for years been calling for beaches to be cleaned up manually, said that while he welcomed the news that the directorate was looking at new machinery, he would need to know what it was before accepting it as a substitute for manual clean-ups.
“Whenever I hear the mention of machinery, I am still sceptical,” Prof. Deidun said. The professor still believes that there were alternatives to manual cleaning for the beaches which could reduce the scale of their grooming.
“The seaweed could be placed in a corner on the beach, that way there would not be the need for the extreme beach grooming that has become so common,” he said, adding that with smaller beaches, there should be no excuse, insisting on manual work at such places.