TG urges ‘radical shift’ in litter and refuse management

Together Gibraltar has called for a “radical shift” in how refuse collection and litter is managed in Gibraltar and a review of the legislation.

The party said there is “an obvious degradation in the cleanliness of streets, beaches and estates which are ruining our citizens’ quality of life and making a mockery of our tourist product”.

It added that the backlash towards cruise passengers' excursion to La Linea shows “the public is clearly worried that Gibraltar is not offering a competitive tourist product and that gross mismanagement is jeopardising one of the pillars of our economy”.

“Together Gibraltar is calling for a review to the 1994 Litter and Nuisance Rules & Regulations which have not been updated save for a one-line amendment in 2018,” the party said in a statement.

“Together Gibraltar have found that most citizens were not aware that refuse should only be deposited at set hours with separate rules for Main Street.”

“This is not a surprise as it appears that no one in the public sector or contracted by the government holds responsibility for communicating this information to businesses and the public, nor is anyone responsible for enforcing this legislation.”

“Together Gibraltar also expressed concern over the prevalence of littering and dog fouling around the Rock and were shocked to learn that the Government only employs two individuals as litter wardens.”

“Together Gibraltar is aware these individuals are doing the best they can but do not have the resources to fix the problem.”

The party said the litter warden jobs “are of paramount importance in Gibraltar where the state of our streets is damaging our appeal to potential tourists and investors and fouling the areas where our children play”.

“The community will see this not a fruitless expense, but as an investment that would potentially bring substantial economic benefits, as well as improving the quality of life of our people,” Together Gibraltar said.

It also queried why rubbish is put out by refuse collection teams hours before collection. “This process leaves litter exposed to wind, seagulls, and other vermin for up to three hours or more which spills litter across a wider area and causes leakage which stains the ground and must be deep cleaned at the taxpayer's expense,” the party said.

“This system should be replaced with more streamlined and increased collections to accommodate the lack of containment capacity especially throughout the city centre.”

“If additional resources are needed for refuse collection teams to carry out their work effectively then they should be provided.”

“These teams’ equipment should also be up to standard to prevent leakage from refuse collection vehicles which leaves our roads in an ugly state.”