I was sad to note today, Tuesday 13 August, that people are abusing the use of recycling skips next to Ryan’s Bar in Spinola Bay pretty badly. The trash, including boxes and over 100+ glass bottles, was overflowing all over the pavement. Can something be done, like installing CCTV cameras to make sure people/bar owners use these skips properly? Perhaps the local council can place a warden there to supervise these skips? It’s amazing how people manage to dump rubbish like this, with the police station a stone's throw away! When do they do it – at night?

Also, the 100 black bags being dumped just two metres away near the public toilet is unacceptable. People should be fined for dumping in the wrong place. It is unhygienic, especially in this heat. Again, I am surprised no-one noticed this dumping, not even the police nearby. The local council promised it would remove the trash, but something should be done to avoid this in the first place. The whole area stank badly.

The same with people parking on the double yellow lines in Triq Wied l-Ghomor. A warden should be there regularly to fine them.

On top of it all, the people decorating for the festa to be held next week were blocking the roads and traffic without a warden in sight, or a sign to warn drivers that the road was blocked. Don't they need a permit to block the road like that, or can they just do as they please and irritate everyone else trying to get home from work?

Quite frankly the place is a mess, more police surveillance and patrolling is necessary. We are tired of hearing they are too busy with Paceville. Clearly they need more back-up!

More wardens to stop the dumping of trash are also necessary and should be appointed by the council. This attitude that all is acceptable is wrong! The wardens need to take their job seriously and set a good example and go the extra mile if they want to gain some respect. They should catch those who are dumping excessive trash.

If the St Julian’s local council and mayor are overwhelmed with requests and their inbox is full of complaints, they should consider appointing willing residents as volunteers to help them out. The system needs to be inclusive and, judging by the Save the St Julian’s Group on Facebook, there are plenty of people willing to help.

J. Abela

A Concerned Citizen

St Julian’s Resident