Through the ‘Saving Our Blue’ campaign a substantial amount of 2,448 kilograms of waste was collected during a number of clean ups around Malta and Gozo, Ambjent Malta said.

Among the wastes collected were 13.54 kg cigarette butts, 3.79 kg microplastics, 508.48 kg recyclable waste and 1922.35 kg other types of waste including rubber, textiles, non-recyclable waste, among others.

In June, ‘Saving Our Blue’ campaign was launched for the third consecutive year. It focused on the damage caused by microplastics and the importance of protecting marine protected areas. Through the campaign, efforts against environmental and marine pollution were intensified.

For the end of the third edition of the campaign, various entities and organisations gathered at Għadira beach for a clean-up.

Malta joined other countries celebrating World Clean-up Day in an effort to spread the message in favour of a better environment. Although the primary events took place at Għadira beach, there were several other clean-ups around Malta that took place including Ġnejna, Golden Bay, and Pretty Bay, l-Armier, as well as Ramla l-Ħamra in Gozo.

Ambjent Malta said that throughout this campaign, the main goal was to encourage the public to be more proactive in making sustainable choices as an alternative to single-use plastic products.

Through the ‘Saving Our Blue’ campaign, messages regarding destructive damage to the environment, and biodiversity continued to be communicated to the public.

Various types of waste were collected during these clean-ups. Most common were cigarette butts, but other types of single-use plastics found during these clean-ups are tea and coffee stirrers, beverage bottles, caps, plastic straws, spoons, and other plastic cutlery.

“These too are detrimental to marine life -- not to mention that the beautiful beaches around our islands end up looking dreadful,” Ambjent Malta said.

A considerable amount of small plastic particles, also known as micro and macro plastics, were also found. These are a result of larger pieces of plastic such as a bottle that would break into small pieces through elements like waves, sun rays as well as wind along a stretch of time. They are easily eaten by marine animals and end up in our own food chain.

At the start of this year, the Maltese government banned the importation of certain single-use plastics. Next January, Malta will go a step further as these single-use products will be banned from being distributed, consumed and used in Malta.

Ambjent Malta called on every individual, society, organisation, entity and company to make the necessary effort by making more conscious and sustainable choices towards protecting Malta’s environment from further damage to marine species and biodiversity.