Comino besieged by garbage as island now falls to negative tourism ratings

Updated with Gozo ministry statement

Malta’s main environment NGOs have called to attention the deleterious state of the pristine island of Comino, which keeps falling victim to over-tourism and commercialisation throughout the summer months.

NGOs Din l-Art Ħelwa, FAA (Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar), BirdLife, Għawdix, Wirt Għawdex, Nature Trust as well as the University Students Council, said parts of the island have now fallen victim to negligence, shabbiness, and lack of enforcement, despite being protected under numerous policies.

The NGOs, whose multiple clean-ups around the island collected over 210 garbage bags of trash, said it was evident that cleaners dispatched to tend to the island are not managing to keep up with the garbage generated every day.

NGO witnesses said that while hiking from Blue Lagoon to Santa Marija Bay to the Old Hospital and back, as early as 8:15am, sunbeds from the local concessionaires were already placed on the garigue. “The volume of waste keeps increasing at an alarming rate… the number of bins needed to cater for the number of tourists visiting the island have not only become a hotspot for dumping around them, but also a massive eyesore. This is quite alarming, knowing that seven years ago ERA published the Natura 2000 Management Plan for Comino.”

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The Natura 2000 management plan clearly outlines the importance of implementing a tourism carrying-capacity assessment, in order to provide recommendations for the management of the area. “This should have been completed after the first-year implementation of the management plan, but unfortunately nothing has been done,” the NGOs said.

The management plan also highlighted the importance of controlling access to certain areas of the island to protect flora and fauna, and also to avoid conflicting activities, such as water sports, kiosks, hiring of umbrellas and deckchairs, which restricted the use of private areas on the foreshore.

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“Unfortunately, this plan has never come to fruition, except for a few promises by the tourism minister Clayton Bartolo,” the NGOs said. “Both in 2021 and 2022, the minister promised that a plan would be in effect for the following year. Earlier this year, he mentioned that some changes will be implemented for this summer, but again the ‘holistic plan’ remains altogether inexistent.”

And although deckchairs were reduced by 65% from Blue Lagoon, these were transferred to another part of the island. “While the minister was quoted as saying he was ‘making sure that the garigue is protected and that no umbrellas and deckchairs are placed on them, but are placed on the rocks’, however this evidence clearly shows that this is not the case,” they said, referring to photos supplied to the press.

“In addition, he had stated that the cleaners were going to have an ‘extra shift’ to better clean the island. Although this has surely helped minimise the impact, the amount of waste being generated is simply too much.

“This shows that the system – or lack of it – used in Comino is completely insufficient and inadequate, as it only focusses on the economic aspect. This lack of planning is not only harming the environment, with the increase in noise, light and general pollution, but also the economic aspect,” the NGOs said, pointing to negative Tripadvisor reviews on the shabby and run-down ‘touristic’ areas of the island.

“It’s time to finally act on the Natura 2000 Management Plan, in order to have a holistic plan for the island, as this surely cannot go on for another year. Or at least, if no plan is in the pipeline, the level of enforcement surely needs to increase.”

In a statement, the Gozo ministry said it is cleaning and collecting waste from Santa Marija Bay and the Blue Lagoon three times a day to keep the beaches clean over the summer.

It said that over 31 tonnes of trash were collected from Comino, with an average 2,100 bags of trash collected from Comino every week.

"The Ministry would also like to draw the attention to the fact that while the beach is for everyone to enjoy, bathers, contractors and users alike need to respect the environment and look after the beach as well, it said."