Around 80 volunteers filled three skips full of ladders, tires and other rubbish from St Elmo bay in Valletta on Saturday morning.

Staff from QuickLets and Zanzi Homes were joined by a team of volunteers including around 60 divers, snorkellers and kayak users for the clean-up.

From 8am to 1pm, they managed to fill three skips with rubbish including rusted metal grates, construction and household waste and even a suitcase.

Saturday's action was the eight edition of the annual Ocean Bed Clean-Up organised by the QLZH Foundation, a social impact voluntary organisation from real estate companies QuickLets and Zanzi Homes.

Around 80 volunteers descended on the Valletta bay on Saturday morning. Photo: Harry Hudson.

“It’s about raising awareness,” said QLZH Foundation co-founder Steve Mercieca. “You could do one every day and it still wouldn’t be enough; there’s so much rubbish in the sea.”

Stressing the scale of the problem, the real estate entrepreneur said, “Even if you flick a cigarette or drop a cup out of your car in Rabat it will eventually end up in our seas."

Mercieca said that this was the foundation's 62nd clean-up and that their goal is as much about " getting people" together as it is about giving back. 

He said the foundation had been inspired to return to the area after retrieving a Toyota Prius from the same spot in 2019 with the help of environmental NGO Żibel.

Kayaks were employed during the clean-up. Photo: Harry Hudson.

“We found car jacks, railings and other items in the sea back then so we decided to return this year to do a clean-up,” said Mercieca, before thanking all the volunteers, sponsors and the Valletta local council.

Valletta mayor Olaf McKay said he was “truly satisfied that the local council is assisting this important initiative to protect our marine environment.”

Volunteers collected enough rubbish to fill three skips. Photo: QLZH Foundation.

Calling the annual clean-ups a “significant initiative aimed at raising awareness about the importance of environmental conservation”, McKay said he was "grateful to the volunteers from various communities, all working together towards one goal.”

"This initiative is a testament to how working together can make a positive impact on environmental protection," he said.

Saturday morning’s clean-up was supported by Parnis England Trucking, Dr Juice – which provided food and drink for the volunteers – Dive Systems Malta, EZ Creations print studio, Surf Malta Club, Man with a Van Malta, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), Transport Malta, Sensi Watersports and St John Rescue Corps.

Steve Mercieca (second from left) with staff from QuickLets and Zanzi Homes. Photo: QLZH Foundation.

Last year, a 100-year-old clay gin bottle, walkie-talkies and coins dating back to the 1970s were just some of the rare finds collected from the seabed in Senglea during the foundation’s seventh annual ocean clean-up.