Maltese citizens are facing health and social challenges that merit urgent attention – obesity, mental health problems, respiratory diseases such as asthma, social exclusion, air, light and noise pollution – the list goes on and on. These issues particularly affect socio-economically disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and put pressure on already stretched health budgets.There has never...
Category: Resource use
Kalanka Bay – Public Domain status
You can save the untouched Kalanka Bay. Public domain status will mean that the bay is given increased protection at law. By signing the representation letter (www.foemalta.org/pd) the Planning Authority will have the area included in the list of sites to be voted on as public domain sites by Parliament. Kalanka, together with 23 other...
Friends of the Earth Malta calls on political parties to safeguard our wellbeing
Friends of the Earth Malta has been calling for environmental improvements since 1985 and, thirty years on we face much greater problems than we did then. While environmental awareness has increased, Malta faces a variety of environmental problems related to land use, waste, transport, agriculture, energy, the sea, and biodiversity. Malta has lost far too...
‘Outright abuse’ of ODZ land as application proposes development of old quarry
Friends of the Earth Malta together with Nature Trust Malta – NTM, Ramblers Malta, FAA Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Front Ħarsien ODZ and BirdLife Malta are concerned about an ODZ application (PA 01464/17) in the outskirts of Marsascala which is proposing the conversion of a long-abandoned quarry into a restaurant and other commercial outlets....
FoE Malta proposes seven sites for ‘Public Domain Act’ protection
Following the enactment of the ‘Public Domain Act’, Friends of the Earth Malta has today filed applications requesting that seven sites be designated as being Public Domain. This law empowers citizens and NGOs to recommend land and property to be listed as ‘public domain’. Such land cannot be used for commercial reasons while also guaranteeing...
Waste reduction, not incineration, FoE insists
The revision of the Waste Management Strategy comes 8 years after the original one was completed rather late, most will agree, particularly since the team revising the strategy started the job back in 2005. The document states that the strategy sets a five-year plan. The fact that drafting the revision took 3 years leaves us...
Packaging Waste Collection Scheme – more questions than answers
Further to the letter ‘Packaging waste collection system’ by Chris Ciantar and published on The Sunday Times (April 27th), Friends of the Earth (Malta) would like to point out the following issues. In his letter, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary, clearly exhibits his annoyance at the public statement issued by the NGO. However, unless he...
The eternal saga? Part II
Further to the article published in The Sunday Times, 30th March 2008, “Waste Separation Postponed” Friends of the Earth (Malta) would like to point out that only minor parts of the PR text issued by the organisation were quoted in this article and these were out of context. A case in point of this is...
Waste Separation in Malta – the eternal saga?
Friends of the Earth Malta would like to express concern at the recent developments related to the postponing of the introduction of weekly separate waste collection from households. The reason given by the local press is that, though, local councils, fully support the scheme, they cannot meet the deadlines imposed on them and start implementing...
Redefinition of Incineration Undermines Sustainable Resource Use
With reference to Mr. Paul L. Cardona’s reaction (The Times, July 7) to our position on the re-definition of incineration, FoE (Malta), together with several other FoE groups across Europe, oppose incineration for one simple reason– incineration does nothing to create a shift towards more sustainable and equitable use of the world’s resources. In fact,...