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Environment| Environment

Environment| Environment

While politicians are out campaigning and promising a better environment, confetti is being thrown around, and endless paper is being mailed to people’s homes.

Confetti can be made from either paper, or plastic. However, confetti that glitters is usually made of plastic. It is not recyclable and it is not bio-degradable. Even though confetti made of paper can be recycled it is not a good use for natural resources.

Back in 2019, 39 local councils all around Malta had agreed to ban balloons and plastic confetti, signing a pledge aimed at reducing littering – but is this being enforced?

Aaron Farrugia is the Environment Minister. He recently uploaded a photo showing him enjoying the cheers and confetti while surrounded by the crowd at a Labour Party rally. All this while promising the best environment.

Blue confetti filled the sky as Opposition Leader Bernard Grech celebrated ending the season at the last Nationalist Party rally.

It’s almost as if the interest in Malta’s environment is conveniently used to make it seem as if it is being prioritised, but actions tend to speak louder than words.

As part of the governments efforts in battling single-use plastics (SUPs) and in line with the budget speech, Malta is also banning the sale of various single-use plastic products as of 2022 – but again, have they really been banned?

Lovin Malta spoke to two leading figures in Malta’s environmental scene, Founder of ibel Andrew Schembri, and environmental patroller Cami Appelgren on the matter.

“It goes towards both parties – that all their events have no waste management plans, no guidelines to reduce single-use items, nobody has even thought about the wind this weekend and the banners that both parties set up across malta that have been damaged and have blown away in some areas,” Schembri told the newsroom.

“There are no messages to attendees at these political events to respect the locals and to not throw items on the floor,” he said.

“Everyone talks the talk but when it comes to implementation we are, as always, severely lacking in all areas,” he stressed.

Appelgren said the same thing, that politicians should set an example and that there should be a part of them leading.

“Both parties should take into consideration that they have to be role models. I would take for granted that since both parties promote that nature will have a priority, they would lead the way and obviously implement reduction of single-use items in their party event guidelines,” Appelgren explained.

“This would also apply to aiming at reducing leaflets pre-election which at the moment is littering our direct environment in every locality,” she said, referring to the copious amount of leaflets being distributed to private households.

It’s imperative that as a country, we start looking at issues related to the environment with utmost priority, and not when it serves our own agenda only.

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