Malta is a small island and although we have a coastline surrounded (obviously) by the sea, the amount of beaches, and in particular sandy ones, is limited.

The Mellieha local council has passed by-laws banning certain activities (including impromptu barbecues) from Mellieha Bay. Barbecues are not everyone’s cup of tea, but the fallout from them affects each and every individual directly and indirectly.

Many might scorn anyone who tries to inform people of the amount of rubbish and hazardous materials left behind. But to truly believe, one would have to go and watch the beach cleaning on a Sunday or Monday morning.

Many people do not know that every day, a group of employees makes their way down to the major sandy beaches with a tractor and mechanised rake in tow to clean up the mess that has been left on the beach in the previous 24 hours.

Golden Bay is a prime example. We are not exaggerating when we say that a footprint of rubbish the size of a small house is formed when the beach cleaners gather up all the papers, cans, plastic, bottles, wrappers, semi-congealed food, plastic cutlery, paper plates and other bits and pieces. This is then sent off for disposal.

Aside from all this mess, there is the added danger of charcoal which some irresponsible people decide to dispose of by burying it in the sand.

The Civil Protection Department has warned against this practice year after year. While not everyone is expected to be a nuclear physicist, it does not take much to realise that if you bury a slow-burning fuel under sand (which allows a small amount of oxygen to get to the coals), it will still be burning hours later. It causes injuries and it is also a filthy practice.

We must point out that not everyone does this. Many people are responsible and pack up every last item of rubbish, extinguish the coals (after all, the sea is only a few paces away) and package it all up for proper disposal.

Unfortunately, the behaviour of a few people who have a complete disregard for anyone and everything has led to the regulation (at a local level – which is highly commendable), of the use of beaches.

However, while this is positive, we must back it up with enforcement. We have had too many laws which have been passed and yet not enforced and this certainly looks like a likely candidate.

Will the council be given the resources to literally police the beaches? We are sure that there will be some who have not heard of the by-laws and there will be others who will simply not give two hoots about it and will carry on as normal. In order for this measure to be successful, the local council will need the full backing of the authorities, otherwise it will backfire spectacularly.

Unfortunately, it had to come to this. The blatant disregard for our tourism product, other citizens, tourists in the way that beaches have been treated by some sections of the general public has brought matters to a head.

We are sure that this new by-law will eventually evolve into a long-term strategy to identify areas around Malta that will not allow barbecues. This, of course, will have to go hand in hand with properly identified sites that will allow them, with the necessary infrastructure to support such activities.