Two tonnes of rubbish collected by group of Mellieħa residents

What started off as mini clean-ups by two Mellieħa residents in February led to the clearing away of some 2.2 tonnes of rubbish, including car parts and rusty appliances.

The rubbish was collected from the countryside, roads and the coastline during weekly clean-ups by a group of 15 volunteers, who are now also looking into planting trees in their locality.

Daniela Cini told Times of Malta it all started last year when she decided to start picking up litter during her regular walks.

“The amount of litter I always came across was so disheartening that I decided to start taking a bin bag and picker on my walks,” she said.

Her first mini clean-ups were in the Mistra and Red Tower areas.

Then in February she attended a clean-up organised by the local council where she met Albert Attard, who, like her, had also been clearing up rubbish from public spaces since 2019. They joined forces and started organising regular clean-ups.

Sadly, during the COVID-19 self-isolation times, they came across even more rubbish in the countryside, probably left behind by picnic-goers as people started frequenting areas like Miżieb to be away from the crowds. 

Cini and Attard decided to set up a Facebook...