One might be inclined to think that sites of natural beauty would be few and far between in an island as small as Malta. Fact is, however, that this country is home to something that sets us well apart from other, much larger nations around the world.

We’re talking about beaches. A lot of beaches.

Thanks to popular seaside spots of the likes of Ghadira Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha (amongst many others), the Maltese islands are akin to a museum of marine beauty, attracting thousands upon thousands of visitors from across the globe every year.

Tourism aside – these spots are also home to an unending array of unique marine life, meaning that it is up to us to take on the responsibility of protecting it at all costs.

It’s for that very reason that we've seen the Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and Enterprise (MEEE) launch the fourth edition of the Saving Our Blue campaign earlier this summer.

This initiative aims to raise awareness about the importance of not littering as well as reducing the consumption of single-use plastic items to safeguard our marine environment.

One way Saving Our Blue seeks to reach its goal is through the organisation of beach clean-ups around the islands, which often involve the participation of governmental entities, the private sector, NGOs, and loads and loads of volunteers willing to take action against marine litter.

Think marine littering isn’t that big of a problem?

Think again. Apart from being an eye-sore, most (if not all) waste found on beaches eventually makes its way into our seas, negatively impacting both land and marine species.

Saving Our Blue / Facebook

Amongst the items most commonly found littering Maltese beaches are plastic bottle caps, ‘jablo’ (expanded polystyrene) containers, disposable cutlery, and of course, the ever-so-infamous cigarette butts.

Between 2019 and 2021, Saving Our Blue has collected a whopping 36 kilos-worth of cigarette butts, which, considering that a single cigarette butt weighs in at around 0.2 grams, equates to a whopping 180,000 butts. Crazy, right?

Contrary to popular belief, cigarette filters are also considered single-use plastics and, like every other single-use plastic, take years to disintegrate.

In a bid to further understand the Maltese public’s thoughts about single-use plastics and littering, a national survey was carried out in 2021, wherein it was found that an overwhelming 98 per cent of people surveyed are aware that littering cigarette filters in our natural environment is a public offence. Furthermore, a worrying 15 per cent of smokers admitted to littering with their filter despite being aware of the negative impacts of their actions.

With that being said, what are Saving Our Blue and MEEE doing to prevent marine litter?

Glad you asked! Considering the environmental impacts of cigarette filters on the local marine ecosystems, MEEE recently launched a pilot project which saw 40 containers, referred to as ‘ballot bins’, get installed on sandy beaches around the Maltese islands: 25 in Malta and 15 in Gozo.

Every single ballot bin presents users with a question which they’re encouraged to answer by throwing their cigarette butt in the desired slot. Who knew keeping beaches clean could be so fun?

The bins are expected to help reduce the number of cigarette filters that are improperly disposed and thus reduce the damage done to species within marine environments. Apart from that, this initiative is also set to reduce the harm that stray cigarette butts could cause to the general public – particularly young children playing at the beach.

This initiative continues to build on the work being carried out by MEEE since a ban on various single-use plastic products was imposed at local selling points.

Ultimately, it is up to each and every one of us to make sure that we are all being part of the solution and not the pollution. Register today to join us on 17th September and be part of international World Clean-Up Day celebrations, whilst giving back to our environment.

Want to be kept up to date with Saving Our Blue?

Then make sure to visit the campaign’s official website and follow it on Facebook and Instagram.