Environmental offences

1. To have a centralised system serviced by a single line of contact (a one-stop shop) that encompasses all agencies and caters for all issues. This could emulate the emergency 112 phone line currently in place in Malta, which provides simultaneous access to all emergency departments.

2. To continue to invest in a robust environmental police force.

3. To create an environmental court, which would give greater weight to the rulings given against environmental crimes than the tribunal, which is currently in charge of environmental offences.

4. To further improve the ‘Clean and Upkeep’ app by creating a link between the CMD and the Malta Police Force – EPU by investigating and fining the perpetrator responsible for the environmental damage.

5. To kickstart an educational programme on how to report environmental crimes.

Rural waste management

1. To introduce a flexible schedule for emptying the bins, with a schedule that respects the area in question, and which changes relative to any planned mass event.

2. To ban the burning of waste on agricultural land as a form of waste management. It is suggested that perpetrators are fined for the wider environmental damage caused.

Urban waste management

1. To update the condominium act with the objective of creating a system of better waste management in apartment blocks, which falls under this act.

2. To incentivise a system of ‘good practice’, especially in practices regarding waste reduction and recycling of the waste in localities, it is suggested that authorities positively reinforce desired behaviour.

3. To further increase awareness, the Environment Ministry could set up a nationwide hard-hitting advertising campaign to highlight the degradation of the environment.

Unnecessary littering

1. To curb unnecessary littering, such as plastic and/or laminated confetti, it is suggested that these items are either banned or else the ones used should be made from recycled/organic materials.

2. To reduce the amount of junk mail, the local councils should distribute a ’No Junk Mail’ label in their yearly newsletter or else be able to distribute such labels from their office.

3. To further reduce the harm to the environment, laminated/glossy printed advertisements should be banned and a paper or online alternative needs to be found.

4. To incentivise reusable water bottles by introducing water refilling stations, thereby encouraging the reduction of single-use plastic waste.

Marine waste management

1. To reduce the level of polystyrene pollution, polystyrene foam crates should be banned, and cork/wood crates should be used instead.

2. To stop unnecessary marine littering, tyres and plastic bottles/containers should be restricted from being used as fenders and buoys respectively.

3. To curb the issue of ghost nets, all nets should be chipped, and every missing net needs to be reported to the authorities and recuperated.

Coastline waste management

1. To ensure that more cigarette bins are installed especially on beaches and any other touristic areas and to enforce such practices.

2. To make sure that paper/reusable cups are used in all events that are organised next to the coast (≈30m).

3. To incentivise food outlets very close to the coast to switch to reusable utensils, containers and packaging, as well as reusable or paper cups, and therefore lead to the creation of the ‘plastic free beach’.

The coalition aims to support the implementation of these suggestions on a national level, by first organizing meetings with the competent authorities.

The final goal of such endeavours is to seek solutions for the reduction of litter that is accumulating in the Maltese countryside, the marine environment as well as in urban infrastructure.

For further information, please contact the coalition by either contacting a coalition group member or sending an email to [email protected]

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