Editorial

Those who believe that this island is not doing enough to fight man-made pollution had some good news last week. Actually two bits of good news, although the second may not immediately be seen as such.

On Monday, Environment Minister George Pullicino announced that new regulations will come into force on January 1, whereby fines for littering will become much stiffer: throwing away that cigarette butt nonchalantly into the street, which currently attracts a fine of Lm10 (though it is hardly ever enforced) will now cost you between Lm25 and Lm50, while dumping rubbish will set you back between Lm1,000 and Lm2,500 every time (from the current Lm500 to Lm1,000), which doubles if the offence is committed close to monuments, heritage sites, parks or baches.

The new measures must surely be welcomed as necessary, if belated, tougher action against the indiscriminate littering which unfortunately seems to be part of the Maltese habit, contradicting the well-deserved reputation of Maltese homes as being kept spick and span by their proud owners.

Of course the trick is how to enforce these relatively draconian fines. We have often commented that there does not seem to be much enthusiasm on local wardens' part to book offenders for littering, or even polluting the atmosphere through black car exhaust fumes, or playing wrenchingly loud music on car stereos. Not enough enthusiasm, at least, to match that displayed by wardens in issuing tickets for parking offences.

Had wardens been as assiduous in fining litter louts as they have been in fining parking offenders, perhaps we would not have the littering problem we have today. Actually, wardens' enthusiasm for issuing parking tickets has made the average driver much more wary about where to park, while practically everyone wears a seatbelt (unlike in neighbouring Sicily, for example) and hardly any motorist is seen without a crash helmet. That is as it should be.

So Government has been practically forced to impose much harsher fines for littering and dumping, if only to shock the jaded and the indifferent into complying with the law. The test of the regulations' effectiveness, as we have said, comes with its enforcement, or lack of it.

Minister Pullicino has warned that 'undercover' wardens will be on guard against litter louts and dumpers, while it is presumed that uniformed wardens will take action with the same zeal they display against parking offenders.

The tougher fines also make sense from a revenue point of view. As the Environment Minister pointed out, in the first five months of this year alone, Government spent Lm200,000 to collect some 7,000 tons of waste strewn all over the island. For the whole of last year, the respective figures were Lm500,000 and 16,000 tonnes.

However, as one reader writes in this edition, it is useless imposing fines unless more litter bins are made available. Mr Pullicino last Monday not only promised more bins, but also said that these would be based on the 'separation at source' concept - bins, as found practically everywhere outside Malta, for the collection of clear and coloured glass, paper, plastic, metal, organic waste, etc. Abroad one also sees skips for the disposal of used clothes and shoes... Leading businesses could even be asked to sponsor such bins and skips, on which they would then be able to sport their logo.

And disposing of bulky refuse is being made easier. There is hope, then, that we will finally see an end to the never-ending mounds of rusting refrigerators and washing machines, and all kinds of rubbish ravaging our countryside!

One hopes that in the six-month run-up to the imposition of the new fines, the educational campaigns of the Xummiemu type will be stepped up, so that we are finally rid of the littering culture which still seems to be part of our national make-up. And, of course, many more waste bins need to be made available, particularly at beaches and in our most frequented thoroughfares, while wardens should be on a sharper-eyed, more inclusive, lookout.

The positive aspect of the second piece of news - the raising of fuel prices at the pump - may not be so obvious, but it is there nevertheless. Higher prices for petrol and diesel should make us reflect on whether we need to use our cars as often as we do. Apart from the obvious alternative of using public transport (which has its disadvantages, admittedly), more thought should be given to pooling, especially by office employees.

For example, why should four cars be used to carry four individual drivers, when one car could carry all four, especially if they use the same route to go to work? More thought should be given to pooling and its obvious benefits...