Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat has called on Prime Minister Robert Abela to intervene immediately in what he described as an out-of-control garbage crisis that is making life unbearable for residents.

In an email sent to the Prime Minister this week, Muscat said the locality was "losing control" and warned that unless drastic action is taken, the situation could mirror that of other overburdened areas.

The email included 72 photos, all showing garbage bags piled up outside houses and on street corners at night.

"We have a garbage crisis in the locality," Muscat wrote, attaching photographs of rubbish piled up in several residential streets. "We have been flagging the source of the problem since 25 February 2016 and even offered solutions. Not only hasn't the problem been solved, but it has now turned into a crisis."

The mayor's latest appeal follows years of public complaints and warnings. In August 2023, Muscat issued a press statement saying that the council had been left to fight "a lost battle against vermin that feed on the garbage, unsightliness and physical dangers on our pavements, resulting in health hazards, rising frustration levels and lack of peace of mind." He said the government had done "absolutely nothing" to assist the locality, despite the council identifying serious flaws in the waste system as far back as 2017.

The issue first escalated in November 2016 when organic waste separation was introduced. At the time, daily black bag collection was halted, leading to increased rubbish on the streets. By February 2017, the council had flagged major problems with the system, warning the then Tourism Minister that short-let apartment tenants were exacerbating the issue. But no corrective action was taken.

"Six years down the line, central government has incredibly done absolutely nothing to help us solve the problem," Muscat said last year. "In the interim, the system was introduced country-wide, with all towns taking on the same problems, in varying degrees, that we identified so long ago."

Swieqi, a mainly residential locality, has seen a rapid increase in short-let apartments, many of which contribute significantly to unregulated waste disposal. Bags of rubbish are reportedly dumped on pavements at random times to accommodate quick changeovers, leading to blocked walkways, foul smells and infestations. Muscat noted that residents have "had enough" and are demanding urgent, visible solutions.

The situation is further compounded by late-night noise disturbances from these same properties. "Residents are having to endure entire sleepless nights... shouting, partying, loud music and even litter-and worse-being thrown into neighbouring private properties," Muscat said.

The council has repeatedly contacted enforcement bodies such as the Malta Tourism Authority, Police and LESA, but Muscat says a lack of personnel means problems persist. In a 2022 email to ministers Clayton Bartolo and Miriam Dalli, he warned that "people (!!) are throwing large amounts of garbage in the roads freely and without fear."

Despite attempts to escalate matters, requests for meetings with ministers have reportedly gone unanswered, with feedback often delegated to assistants or left pending. "The local council is being ridiculed and made to look incapable and useless," Muscat lamented. "People point fingers at the local council when in reality they should point their fingers at Central Government."