Volunteers retrieve more than 800kg of rubbish from Delimara coast

Volunteers retrieved more than 800 kilogrammes of rubbish from the Marsaxlokk coast close to Delimara in a sponsored clean-up on Thursday.

Some 22 volunteers from insurance company MAPFRE and their families hauled a staggering 335kg of plastics, 150kg of metal, 140kg of wood, 66kg of polystyrene and 110kg of rubber tyres from the sea.

The haul “smashed” the group’s goal of retrieving 500kg of waste, organising environmental NGO Coast is Clear Foundation said in a social media post announcing the results.

Three boats assisted with the clean-up, which saw the participation of volunteers of all ages, including four children. 

Coast is Clear Foundation founder Mark Galea Pace said Thursday’s clean-up followed similar operations in recent weeks that had netted some 64 bags of waste. “We knew there was more, but we didn’t expect that much,” he said of Thursday’s results.

Coast is Clear Foundation founder Mark Galea Pace (centre) encouraged the public to lead by example. Photo: Coast is Clear Foundation.

One volunteer enlisted his dog in the clean-up. Photo: Coast is Clear Foundation.

Explaining the scale of the problem facing stretches of Malta’s coastline, Galea Pace said that in recent clean-ups he had “literally been walking on plastics and polystyrene four to six feet deep”.

And while recent operations saw volunteers bring ashore items of varying materials, plastics by far were the most prevalent, he said, noting that much of the plastic waste found on Malta’s beaches originated from abroad, brought to the country by sea currents.

The Mediterranean is one big plastic soup- Mark Galea Pace

“Most of it comes from out to sea, in particular from the fishing industry,” he said, explaining that Malta’s north and west coasts were home to large amounts of plastic waste originating in Tunisia, for example.

Writing on plastic containers provided clues as to the source of the waste, with sun damage, fading the material, and the level of structural degradation an indication of how long the waste had been at sea.

Galea Pace recently recovered a water polo ball that appeared to have originated from Sardinia, and the recent clean-up saw some 22 large garbage bags filled with discarded polystyrene used by the fishing industry as floats and to hold up fishing lines.

“The Mediterranean is one big plastic soup,” he said.

Photo: Coast is Clear Foundation.

MAPFRE employees and their families took part in the clean-up. Photo: Coast is Clear Foundation.

The foundation founder noted that while vast quantities of rubbish originated overseas, the situation locally had “improved immensely,” with far fewer locally derived plastics littering Malta’s beaches and valleys.

And while the country’s rapidly expanding population had increased the country’s output of rubbish, the number of clean-ups – which he noted were seen as increasingly “fashionable” for companies, schools and councils – had increased by an impressive 500 per cent.

Galea Pace added that foreign nationals “contribute a lot to cleaning up the island”, in particular those from companies in sectors such as gaming, which frequently took part in clean-ups.

Encouraging individuals, families and groups of friends or colleagues to get involved, he stressed that “every little counts, and what you do inspires others to follow”.

“I always promote action over preaching,” he said. “Inspire others with your actions”.

Proceeds from the clean-up collected by MAPFRE are set to be donated to victims of two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela last month within minutes of each other, killing more than 4,000 people, according to the latest figures.