Park rangers have called for responsibility as the litter situation at Golden Bay and Majjistral Park persists. 

Leftover lunches, plastic wrapping, cigarette butts, and cans continue littering two of Malta's prime sites, much to the frustration of the officials monitoring the area.

“A green practice that our rangers promote daily among the visitors is the use of reusable containers and less usage of single-use plastics such as bottles and wrappers," Cami Appelgren, the ranger in charge of the Patrolling Ranger unit of Heritage Parks, said. 

Unintentional littering is quite common and therefore it was important to take less packaged items over to the sites.

Besides, she said several language schools have not adopted more environmentally friendly policies, meaning students often leave a lot of litter behind when visiting Golden Bay. 

Majjistral Park is managed by the NGO Heritage Parks Federation with rangers caring for enforcement and conservation. 

Their role involves the removal of invasive species, planting and maintaining young trees and educating visitors about the biodiversity, history, and geography of the park.

However, much of their time is also spent cleaning litter from Golden Bay and Majjistral Park.   

Aside from being aesthetically unpleasant, litter can severely affect local ecosystems. Plastic wrappings often end up in the sea and choke turtles, while food waste attracts rats. 

Other human activities such as charcoal barbecues, camping outside designated areas and off-roading are other issues which carry negative effects. 

These activities are illegal and can carry fines between €400 and €50,000.