The Cleansing and Maintenance Division has spent €1,295,000 in public cleaning equipment that is set to be used in the St Julian’s and Sliema. This machinery will consist of a refuse collection vehicle, a street washer, a compact sweeper, four pedestrian sweepers, a city sweeper, crew cab tipper vans, a robot sweeper, and robot scrubbers.

Work is presently underway for more waste collection vehicles to be purchased in order for the frequency of waste collection to increase during the summer months, due to the heightened illegally dumped waste observed during this period. It is intended for the localities of Swieqi, Paceville, St Julian’s, and Gżira to benefit from this project.

These details were announced via a press conference by the Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness, Clayton Bartolo, the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Cleanliness, Glenn Bedingfield, and the Director General of the Cleansing and Maintenance Division, Ramon Deguara.

Minister Clayton Bartolo said that this investment is a clear message that the importance of public cleanliness sits atop of the country’s agenda.

“Through the national project on cleanliness and maintenance that we launched last October, we are managing to improve our efficiency and speed when it comes to this area”, Bartolo said, “In the coming weeks and months, we are committed to continuing with more investment in a number of traditional touristic localities and others to ensure that we have a cleaner, more attractive and more beautiful country.”

Parliamentary Secretary Glenn Bedingfield mentioned the electoral promise made two years ago to ensure that a specific plan was to be prepared for the cleaning and maintenance of the most touristic areas around our country. He added that this is being done primarily for the residents of these areas, though also for the tourists that visit them.

“Today we are announcing the fulfilment of what was promised, with a substantial investment that will ensure that these areas, which are among the most frequented, will be equipped with the necessary equipment,” he said.

The Director General of the Cleansing and Maintenance Division, Ramon Deguara, said that this machinery will “greatly improve” the many tasks that are already being done on a daily basis so that the areas of Paceville, St Julian’s, and Sliema can be cleaner.