Locals have slammed the state of a recycling point in Sliema after the site was spotted covered in rubbish on Thursday afternoon.

“It was like a mountain of rubbish... everybody passes by shaking their heads but nobody does anything,” said George Portelli, a regular visitor to the area along Tigne, metres away from beach clubs and the promenade.

“I’m in the area often and the rubbish is always there... there’s too much rubbish on this island,” he said.

When Times of Malta visited the site on Thursday afternoon, cardboard boxes, black and recycling bags and even bulky waste could be seen strewn across the street and piled up in front of the recycling bins.

Mayor: 'It's a big mess'

When asked for comment, Sliema mayor John Pillow called the rubbish collection system “a big mess”.

With collection now managed at a regional level, the local councils were only able to make additional collection requests to the regional councils rather than make arrangements themselves, he explained.

“Unlike before, the local council cannot pay for additional services,” he said.

While the council operates a camera at the site, the recent power outages had interfered with its operation, Pillow explained, but stressed that lack of enforcement by the authorities was the main issue. 

“Enforcement is also something we have constantly asked about but the situation remains as is, which is utterly unfair on the local council and responsible residents.

“Everyone’s complaining... garbage is one of the biggest problems,” he concluded.

Revisiting the site on Monday, Times of Malta found that a lot of the rubbish in front of the bring-in site had been cleared. However, heaps of garbage remained in front of a container to deposit clothes and shoes for recycling and reuse.

Days after being cleared, rubbish was once again piling up at the site. Photo: Daniel Ellul

Organic waste, bags of plastic bottles and cardboard boxes continued to litter the area.

Along the streets of Sliema garbage bags, laundry drying racks and cardboard boxes blocked many of the locality’s pavements and apartment entrances.

Similar problems plague Gżira

Earlier this month, Gżira residents also spoke out about household rubbish being dumped on the streets, saying the waste was attracting pests and calling for action by the authorities.

Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché attributed the problem to a lack of enforcement and the locality’s growing population, which rose sharply in 10 years to over 10,000 in 2021.

Problems with waste disposal in the locality had existed for some time but became less manageable as the locality’s population increased, Borg Manché explained.

Welcome to Tignè: rubbish piles up around recycling bins.

“Nothing was done to address the problem in a proper way and, with the increase, it became worse,” he said.

In a statement at the time, the Environment and Resources Authority said it was focusing on educational efforts as well as enforcement.