Over 800kg of discarded appliances, other refuse, collected from Wied Qirda

An extensive waste clean-up exercise has taken place at Wied Qirda, a valley in the limits of Zebbug, which had fallen victim to the dumping of substantial quantities of refuse and construction debris.

Earlier this week, The Malta Independent had reported that illegal dumping was still taking place at the protected valley, with the newspaper having seen freshly dumped material.

Ambjent Malta, the newly-launched environmental agency, told MaltaToday that its Valley Management Unit had carried out an inspection of the valley following the media reports.

“Apart from the freshly-dumped material cited in the article - that included stereos, old fridges, a broken car windscreen, rubber mats, metal cages and dispersed construction material - other waste was found including sanitary ware, large quantities of glass bottles, furniture and other home appliances,” the agency said.

It said that work to collect the waste started on 14 August and was completed by 17 August, with more than 840kg of material, which was found scattered in an area covering approximately 20,000 sq. m, having been removed. The fly-tipped waste was cleared by hand to avoid negative impacts on the valley’s sides and bed, and to the riparian flora and fauna in the surroundings.

Wied Qirda forms part of the largest water catchment in the Maltese Islands, that outflows in Marsa. The watercourse is scheduled as a Special Area of Conservation as it harbours habitats of ecological and conservation value of national importance.