The fact that three persons were caught red handed littering in St Paul’s Bay and fined €150 each did not serve as a deterrent for other residents in the area to carry out similar offences.

Last week, The Malta Independent reported how mounds of rubbish had been left on the pavement in J.Quintinus Street. The Local Council sent its workers to remove the litter within a few hours. In comments to this newspaper, the council said this was an everyday occurrence, with people abusing simply because they knew that someone would clear up after them.

Residents who posted photos of the mess on social media described the locality as the “new Maghtab.”

The Environment and Resources Authority said it was doing its best to mitigate this problem, and called for the co-operation from each and every citizen to take out garbage during the days and times established by law.

However, just hours after the newspaper reports and the fines dished out by the regulator, the situation at J.Quintinus Street was the same again, with new photos showing numerous black bags, boxes and broken furniture spilling out on the pavement.