Malta Environment Foundation and Conservation Collective are excited to be partnering with Friends of the Earth Malta on the project ‘Ditch the Waste – Save Comino’.

This project is in the final round of projects being supported by Hublot and Depeche Mode who are raising funds for Conservation Collective. The funding is being channelled to member Foundations across the CC network to tackle plastic pollution through local community-led initiatives, educational activities and awareness campaigns. Since June 2023, 14 projects have been launched across 10 different countries via three approach categories: Plastic-Free, Waste Management and Clean Ups.

Our local grant partner in Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta, campaign on some of today’s most pressing environmental and social issues, by engaging the public directly through a wide range of diverse projects and activities and mobilising people to participate in decision-making processes.

This project aims to reduce waste from being dispersed into the surrounding coastal natural environment on the protected island of Comino. This small islands attracts over 5,000 tourists daily during peak summer. Food stands contribute to waste and litter including discarded pineapple skins creating unpleasant conditions, especially near the ecologically sensitive ‘Blue Lagoon’. This is impacting Comino’s biodiversity, including a spike in rats which are a threat to native species including Yelkouan Shearwater seabirds. Comino is also a designated Bird Sanctuary, part of the Natura 2000 network, and within a Marine Special Protection Area. It is a roosting site for migratory birds, and home to local shrubs and garigue including endemic species.

The expected results are:

• Reduction in plastic and non-plastic pollution
• Increase in environmental awareness of visitors to Comino
• Behavioural change of visitors
• Uptake of sustainable practices by companies on Comino

“Friends of the Earth Malta is thrilled to be able to take concrete action to address the waste problems created by the oversaturated tourism activities that are threatening Comino’s unique and fragile nature. The grant will enable us to reduce plastic and waste through the piloting of a cup deposit scheme and reusable beach items box, and also to start closing the waste loop by setting up a composting system to cater for part of the waste that is generated on the island. We hope that these efforts will influence tourists’ perspectives and behaviour, and are part of our broader vision for restoring the Il-Forn ta’ Kemmuna as a focal point for sustainability on Comino.”

Martin Galea De Giovanni, Director – Friends of the Earth Malta