Plans to make Malta a so-called White Flag Beach country are nonsensical without a proper coordinated effort among all relevant stakeholders, Alternattiva Demokratika said today. It is incredible how the Ministry for the Environment seemingly rushed into a 'scheme' which looks more like a 'scam'.
Alternattiva Demokratika spokesperson for the Urban Environment, James Gabarretta, stated that it supports campagins to free beaches from plastic, however such campaigns require more thought. Declaring plastic free beaches without any practical long term plan to implement this elimation of waste is misleading and conveys a wrong message.
Instead of investing in real plans to address plastic pollution, including insisting on a change to our economic model, both locally and at EU and international fora, the Ministry for the Environment has raised a white flag to plastic waste. Gabarretta questioned "What does this mean? Admittedly it is positive to try to reduce plastic waste due to the damage it causes to the marine environment, food supply and the aesthetic value of our shores". He added that "however it is nonsensical that the government has decided to take an expensive short cut and choose the most absurd solution". Malta is subject to marine borne plastic pollution, which is washed up from all around the Mediterranean. Therefore a serious effort to reduce marine litter needs to be coordinated with all stakeholders wherever possible. This includes working for political solutions with our European partners and other Mediterranean countries."
Gabarretta also said that ways should be sought to support the work of local NGOs who have consistently dedicated their time to keep our environment in a good state. The White Flag initiative is only an offensive and expensive gesture to the work of local NGOs. The AD spokesperson stated that "We strongly believe that waste separation on beaches involves much more than raising a flag. It is clear that even on Blue Flag certified beaches, there are many challenges which have not been adequately addressed yet. Therefore before bringing in another certification scheme, which is reportedly a scam, we are advocating that challenges are faced in coordination with all the relevant stakeholders. Ultimately what we need is legislative action to reduce the use of plastic, move towards a sustainable green economy based, and to ensure that polluters really pay for the damage they do."
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