It is becoming more and more evident that our natural environment is heading to the pits. You don’t need to be a nature lover or a beach bum to see the masses of plastic on our beaches. And if you do miss the plastic, a quick stroll on the beach will reveal TVs, umbrellas, crates, syringes and much more. Not only are we destroying the visual beauty of magnificent locations such as Ghajn Tuffieha, but we are also killing much of the sea life that forms an integral part of the ecosystem. This is painfully (literally) obvious to people who get in the water in winter, through the blankets of jellyfish now infesting our shores.
The processes systematically destroying our environment seem to be here to stay. While we are slowly realising that we are creating an environmental time-bomb, action – particularly from government – is going at tortoise speed. This is where some special people come in! A group of people who have had enough of waiting for the government to clean our beaches (which they don’t for nine months of the year), have started up a voluntary group to look after Ghajn Tuffieha.
That’s Rubbish! is a group of young enthusiasts set up by Michelle Bartolo with the goal of spreading environmental awareness to the island of Malta. They have been organising voluntary clean-ups since May 2008, where they trawl the beach separating recyclable rubbish from the non-recyclable rubbish and collecting anything unnatural. They then haul all the garbage bags up Ghajn Tuffieha’s deadly steps.
Initially Michelle was struggling to pull people to the clean-ups, and when often only three people turned up, she sometimes felt like quitting. Luckily a core group of very dedicated nature lovers are now attending the cleanups regularly and the size of the group is growing. The problem is the amount of rubbish that comes in with every bit of bad weather. Mistral winds coming in straight after a cleanup flood the beach with rubbish again. As you can find out from the That’s Rubbish! blog, there are limitations to the cleanups due to a lack of volunteers.
Michelle and That’s Rubbish! are super-dedicated and have plans to extend their cleanup group to tackle other beaches and also cleanups from the sea. Their plans to save our environment cannot materialise without support from the people who share these spaces. The group needs more people so that even small pieces of plastic can be collected. Funding is also an issue, as their group cannot expand and follow through on their ideas to save our nature without money to buy garbage bags, to organise rubbish pick-ups and to spread awareness of the cause in the media.
The That’s Rubbish! community is a special one; where people from any ethnic background are welcomed and where one can make 20 new friends instantly. The caring, friendly people who are working to save our beaches need help! To find out more about how you can get involved either visit www.thatsrubbishmalta.com or email Michelle at info@thatsrubbishmalta.com. Or simply head to the beach and lend a hand! The next cleanup is being held on Saturday, 21 March at Ghajn Tuffieha!
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