Have you ever seen something so ridiculous that you have to read it twice just to make sure your eyes aren’t deceiving you? Or three times for good measure? That’s how it feels to read the local news sometimes. Here’s to all the people who thought that I’d be stuck for something new to complain about every week: these articles are practically writing themselves at this point.

In today’s episode of ‘Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome’, the CEO of WasteServ offered a nugget of advice that no one asked for or knew they wanted when he suggested we start freezing our organic waste to avoid unpleasant odours while waiting for collection day.

I’m pretty sure he didn’t think he’d kick up the stink that he did but I’m not sure what reaction he was expecting from a country littered with filth where people have to queue several times a week in the sun to deposit their bottles in overflowing machines to get a few euros back.

I honestly don’t get how the onus to change in this country always falls just to the people. Everyone knows our population has only been increasing in the past few years – it’s all people talk about. The larger the headcount, the more waste is produced.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to increase services than to ask us to put our garbage in the freezer? Wouldn’t it also make sense to increase those services according to the area? Sliema has now had a rubbish problem for years; did the residents really have to protest a few days ago to bring awareness to it?

I’m battling to fathom the logic behind the government taking away rubbish responsibility from local councils

Yes, the separation of waste is necessary and needed but I’m struggling to see how this is the best solution our leaders could come up with.

I’m also battling to fathom the logic behind the government taking away rubbish responsibility from local councils that actually had their fingers on their locality’s pulse and could perhaps do more in terms of enforcement. While I’m sitting in endless traffic, I often wonder who makes these decisions and for whom.

I mean, tourism is one of the country’s main sources of income. What if tourists staying in self-catering apartments can’t take their rubbish out on a specific day at a specific time? What then? And it’s not even just about tourists. Contrary to 50 years ago, many women work today and aren’t sitting at home waiting for the gas man to come by or for the allotted time to take their leftovers out.

Why does everything in this country only happen till one in the afternoon, post office and banks included? What are people who work meant to do? No one complains because they’re probably clocking in to work for half an hour and leaving. That should give everyone enough time to run their errands.

No, Mr CEO, I won’t be putting my organic waste in the freezer but what I will do is demand that the same government that spends my taxes subsiding blockbuster films, actually earns its keep by injecting money in the right places. To quote the great bard himself: “Something is rotting in the state of Denmark” and, God knows, it’s not just the rubbish.