An environmental organisation on Friday complained about the situation in Comino, especially as the arrival of summer looms.

In a statement on Friday, Nadur Nadif said that despite assurances given and pledges made, little tangible progress to improve Comino has been registered.

Portions of the island surrounding the Blue Lagoon remain marred by garbage, “a situation deemed intolerable for a designated Natura 2000 site”.

Litter ranged from cups, bottles, and cigarettes to discarded pineapples.

Bins were either inadequately labelled or not labelled at all, exacerbating the challenge of proper waste management. Moreover, the incessant hum of generators further disrupted the island's tranquillity, Nadur Nadif said. 

The NGO, which last year collected more than 200 bags of rubbish from the island in multiple clean-ups, said that while commendable efforts had been made in tree-planting initiatives by previous environmental stewardship, there was still a lot of plastic netting abandoned around trees.

“Achieving a harmonious equilibrium between economic prosperity and environmental integrity requires proactive measures," they said, adding that they had made several "pragmatic" proposals to state authorities about how to improve the situation.

One such proposal is to declare Comino a plastic-free zone. 

But it seems there is little appetite to change things, Nadur Nadif said. 

“The prevailing apathy toward creating meaningful change is regrettable, particularly given the intrinsic allure of Comino and its potential to captivate quality tourism and enrich the heritage of future Maltese generations.

“As we approach the onset of summer 2024, we hope for an improvement over the preceding years. It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to conscientiously fulfil their responsibilities in safeguarding our environment,” it said.