Cleansing Department officials, led by the executive chairman of Ambjent Malta, Conrad Borg Manche, as well as members of environmental NGOs and a number of politicians, spent the day on Saturday cleaning up part of Wied Qirda.

The valley, which is situated between Zebbug and Siggiewi, often sees illegal dumping and fly-tipping. A few weeks ago, The Malta Independent reported that dumping in the valley was still rampant. A few days later the newly-formed Ambjent Malta told a section of the media that a clean-up had been carried out.

When The Malta Independent visited the site again it found that a number of areas that were prone to dumping had been overlooked. This newspaper had flagged the issue with Borg Manche, who said he would personally inspect the site. He also asked us to point out the areas where dumping had taken place, which we did.

Saturday’s clean-up focused inside and around a dilapidated building which had for decades been used as a dumping site. Conrad Borg Manche said a truckload of material had been removed from the site.

He also said the hole through which people were throwing rubbish inside the room would be closed off in the coming days.

In a Facebook post, Borg Manche said the clean-up had been carried out with the NGOs Get Trashed Malta and Malta Clean Up.

Zebbug mayor Sarah Agius and her partner, MEP election candidate Alex Saliba, as well as the mayor of Pembroke, Dean Hili, and PD politician Timothy Alden also took part.

Borg Manche appealed to people to keep green spaces clean. Why do people dump unwanted items in such areas when they can make use of the bulky refuse services offered by local councils, he asked.

He appealed to the public to take part in a nationwide clean-up on 15 September, which is World Cleanup Day.