The government, the Local Councils Association and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority signed an agreement yesterday which paves the way for the new littering and illegal dumping fines, which will come into effect in January.

The agreement was signed at a press conference held at the Rural Affairs and the Environ-ment Ministry. The plain clothes “eco-wardens,” who will be enforcing the new littering legislation, began their training yesterday and will start working in October.

However, up to December, the system will be on a trial basis and the wardens will only issue warnings, and not tickets, on catching someone littering or dumping rubbish illegally. If a person who has been given a warning during the trial period is caught littering or dumping again up to a year after the first offence, he or she will be made to pay for both offences.

The trial period will be accompanied by an information campaign, for which a tender has already been issued. As from January, however, the new regime will apply. Anyone caught littering next year – which includes throwing a cigarette butt on the ground – will face a fine of between Lm25-Lm50. Up to now, such an offence carried a Lm10 fine. Illegal dumping, on the other hand, will be subject to a fine of between Lm500 and Lm1,000.

The range gives the warden discretion in a way that reflects the gravity of the littering or illegal dumping. Discarding a cigarette butt on the ground, for example, is likely to attract the lower fine, while throwing a plastic bag full of rubbish out of a car window will receive the full penalty. A full fine will also be applied to littering or illegal dumping which takes place in tourist zones or areas of cultural or ecological significance.

Minister George Pullicino did not seem too keen to reveal the details of how the wardens will be working when questioned by the journalists present, saying that it was probably counterproductive to disclose such information. He did say, however, that some 40 wardens had been recruited from the current warden agencies to be trained as eco-wardens. He did not exclude the possibility that more may be recruited in the future. Regular, uniformed wardens will also have the power to issue fines for littering, while eco-wardens will only have jurisdiction over littering and illegal dumping.

The system will be surveyed by a specially-appointed unit which will recommend changes to it as the need arises. For reasons of security and verifiability, it may be that two wardens will be on a beat together.

Last week the LCA gave its members details of the scheme and invited them to advise whether they will be taking part in the enforcement system by the end of September. Association president Ian Micallef said he was almost certain that all the local councils that already have wardens will also take the eco-wardens on board. So far, 15 local councils have already replied in the affirmative.

The association is encouraging local councils to pool their resources, as is done with other schemes. Schemes implemented on a regional basis have proved successful and help cover areas which would otherwise not be feasible, he said. In the case of this scheme, regional cooperation would help prevent the possibility of a small village ending up as the dumpsite of larger towns, simply because it does not make financial sense to patrol it, he added.

The government, through Mepa, will retain the right to detail eco-wardens to any areas it deems fit, including areas which fall within the jurisdiction of a local council, although the idea is that Mepa should focus on natural reserves, historical sites and other rural areas of special interest.

The money generated from the fines will go partly to the local councils for the administration of the scheme and the rest into an environment fund. Mepa will also retain a share of the revenue when it contracts the wardens.

The environment fund will be used to subsidise environmental projects submitted by NGOs from time to time. Along with the fines and the new wardens, the government will also be issuing a tender for the supply and maintenance of litter bins. The idea is to increase the number of bins on the island in a way that make it easier to dispose of rubbish, while at the same time punishing severely those who choose not to use such amenities.

Mr Pullicino appealed to the public for cooperation. Illegal dumping is a black spot on the country’s conscience, not the government’s, he said, adding that a national effort was needed. He also appealed to the new recruits to focus on priorities, which are a crackdown on littering and illegal dumping, and not to embark on some witch hunt against people who take out their rubbish too early or other such grey areas.

Referring to another change in the law introduced by the same ministry earlier this year, the Minister pointed out that if the statistics remain as they are, by the end of the year the country will have used 20 million fewer plastic bags than during the previous year. In 2004, something like 52 million plastic bags were used.