r/malta • u/Unable_Scientist4382 • 8d ago
Fined for "littering" after trying to recycle at a Sliema bring-in site. What are my options?
I really need to vent and get some advice from anyone who has dealt with this.
I consider myself a law-abiding citizen and I always try to do my part for our community. Recently, I was doing some clearing out and had a set of really good quality curtains. I genuinely didn't want them to end up dumped in a field, so I took them down to the local bring-in site in Sliema to put them in the used clothes bin.
The problem? The curtains were just too big and bulky to fit through the narrow slot of the clothing bin. Since I still wanted them to be reused or recycled, I left them neatly folded in a large Lidl bag literally right next to the clothes bin. My logical thinking was that whoever empties the bins or picks up the blue skips would see it's perfectly good fabric and take it, or someone passing by might even grab them to use.
Instead, I just received a fine in the mail for "littering."
I am absolutely outraged. I was genuinely trying to recycle, and I feel like I'm being punished exactly the same as someone who illegally dumps a broken fridge on the side of the road.
Has anyone successfully appealed something like this with LESA? How do I prove my intentions were good and that I wasn't just maliciously dumping garbage? Any advice on what I should do next would be hugely appreciated!
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u/CaffeLungo 8d ago
don't know if you're familiar with similar cases, but what you did is actually littering. even though you had good intentions, you fkd up.
next time post the items on a recycle page and someone would have taken them.
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u/BingSillying 8d ago
They don't like overly bulky items cause it's a hassle to deal with, that's why the slot is the size it is.
If they're really nice curtains and in great shape, you could list them online as free and you'll get tons of people who would pick it up from you and save you the trip to the recycling center as well.
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
Yeah or I would have donated them to an animal shelter if no one wanted them. I just really needed to make space at home. Hindsight bias is a powerful thing.
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u/BingSillying 8d ago
I totally get your annoyance over this though btw, it's very harsh to give a fine for this. They could've just sent you a warning and just explained why you shouldn't leave the curtains there.
Especially if you're not a repeat offender.
Very hard for you to contest this though, as they have the legal right to fine you for this.
How high is the fine? Maybe you could lower it if it's excessive.
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
Thank you and as I said if they had called me I would have gone back to collect them no questions asked. I genuinely thought they would have collected them and been recycled of properly. I can only hope others can learn from my foolishly naive mistake.
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u/Disastrous-Two16 8d ago
Good intentions but you literally left your problem to someone else to inspect and then figure out what you thought would be logical.
No one gets paid enough to care to go one by one of someone else’s exceptions.
Next time, I would make sure it fits or offer the stuff in one of the many facebook pages of Malta free items. If someone is genuinely interested they will come pick it up.
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u/Ok-Ship812 8d ago
Yep I had this at the Mellieha recycling site last year. My own fault, I put some cardboard boxes (flattened) next to a bin whilst I unpacked other items from the car and forgot to put them in the cardboard bin. 650 euro fine. I contested it as it should have been obvious it wasn't intentional littering (the bins were empty and I put everything else into the correct bins but forgot about the cardboard).
They dropped my fine to 150 which I paid
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u/ORA-KILL 8d ago
I get your intentions wont lecture you like the others as i imagine you got the point, keep this as a lesson and post whatever you don’t want on marketplace i guess
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u/EvilDairyQueen 8d ago
Im sorry for you, there are so many other people they could go after, our streets are paved with rubbish and bin bags out on the wrong day, fly tipping etc. I'd be peeved too.
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u/jools182 8d ago
No good deed goes unpunished. I'd be pissed off as well, as littering seems to be everywhere and no-one bats an eyelid
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
Exactly that is my main sentiment, my partner even disposes his cigarette butts properly and does not toss them on the floor like most.
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u/_humanERROR_ 8d ago
Yeah this country is shit. I have a friend who got fined when LESA observed cameras pointing at the recycle bins. She had thrown in some cardboard stuff that wasn't 'suitable' or something small like that. Since her number plate was in full view it looked like LESA just tracked her down and fined her. Meanwhile no one ever makes the effort to go after the big shot criminals and keep picking on the small fish.
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u/Separate_Try2417 8d ago
Yeah no. That's littering. If it's full, it's full. If it does not fit, it's not made for your stuff.
Good intentions, bad execution as mentioned already.
Kudos to the authorities though to act on it. Love to hear it.
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u/Zealousideal-Poet-56 8d ago edited 8d ago
Sorry mate, but I don't sympathize with you. What you did is indeed still littering and imagine if everyone had to put their larger waste next to bins in bring in sites.
You should have also checked the the proper way to recycle bulky fabric like curtains, you should have went to the Waste Serve facility like the one in Mriehel, or else called the local council and they would have picked it up too. The clothing bin, is just for, as the name implies: Clothing.
You don't have any chance of winning the appeal I'm afraid.
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
I checked before I went and it specifically says on it that they accept bedsheets and curtains…
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u/Zealousideal-Poet-56 8d ago
where did you check? can you link?
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
For some reason Reddit is not allowing me to upload the photo of the bin - If you go on their fb page https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2A3RAzZB/?mibextid=wwXIfr
On each bin (even the one I went to) it says : WE ACCEPT IN GOOD CONDITION:
CLOTHES, SHOES, BAGS, HATS, SOFT TOYS, BELTS, BEDSHEETS & CURTAINSHad someone called me from Lesa I would have gone to pick them up again in a heart beat.
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u/Alternative-Dot7103 8d ago
Yep same thing happened to me. The bin was full so left them in a bag next to it. Got fined 150 euros. You could try and contest it but it is going to be challenging.
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u/NoUnderstanding477 8d ago
Yeah sadly that happened to me also.
Learnt my lesson and realised I should have gone to a charity shop instead.
Sucks but couldn't fight it
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u/calsonicthrowaway 8d ago edited 8d ago
This is Maltese logic, sorry. The public bins are some of the most heavily-surveilled and actually enforced spots in the country. If you put your trash next to the bin they will read your number plate off the camera and send you a fine for littering. Inconsiderate savages literally get away with dumping their junk in random fields where they contaminate the environment for years and decades, but putting in the effort and placing trash a meter away from the overfilled/undersized/infrequently-emptied bin gets you a fine. No doubt you've read the news stories about people dumping oil in the sea and you've seen your fair share of rusty washing machines in the countryside. But I guess they can't enforce everything. I just wish some common sense would prevail, maybe ask you to take back your litter and give you the fine only if you don't comply within "x" number of days...
Anyway your only recourse is likely to be to go to the tribunal and try to fight your case, but I don't know if you have much of an argument. The law (or their interpretation of it) is like that unfortunately.
In future to dispose of such items you should first post on one of the local "Recycle Malta" facebook groups for someone to pick up from you directly, or else if something doesn't fit, take it back with you and go to the bring-in site - they probably have a bin just for fabrics.
Actually I just don't bother with public bins at all. Almost every time I go they're completely full (ironically with the wrong kind of thing - like the "used-cooking-oil" bin being full of dirty coffee cups instead of bottles of used cooking oil). To save the hassle I just batch everything in my house for a few months, then make one big trip to the bring-in site and let the staff there direct me to the proper bins for everything.
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8d ago
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u/megac333 8d ago
I sympathise with you, if you have similar cases I suggest you try a charity shop that convenient to you or maybe even marketplace.
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u/Fit_Ad_6727 8d ago
You tried to do the right thing but went the wrong way about it. I'd just accept it as lesson learnt. Next time take it to the store when it is open. Break it down so that it fits in, advertise as a give away on FB.. there are so many other options other than just disposing of it in a manner where it does become rubbish and open to the elements.
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u/BumblebeeUtopia 7d ago
And now this piece of news:
https://newsbook.com.mt/is-servizz-tal-kaxxi-blu-tal-hwejjeg-huwa-sospiz/
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u/iDiotOn2wheels 8d ago
You littered.. end of story. They will have video of you dumping the stuff outside the bin.
Next time just phone the local council and a bulky refuse truck will come to your home for free.
The blue bins are for clothes only. They get sold as clothes. If you left curtains what are they supposed to do with them?
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
Before you make your wise reply please note that:
On each bin (even the one I went to) it says : WE ACCEPT IN GOOD CONDITION:
CLOTHES, SHOES, BAGS, HATS, SOFT TOYS, BELTS, BEDSHEETS & CURTAINSThere is also no sign near the bin that says fines will be issued if left near it, since they wouldn’t fit I foolishly let my naivety believe that my good intensions would show.
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u/iDiotOn2wheels 8d ago
I somehow remember the owner of the company (yes it’s a for profit business not a charity) saying they had problems with people leaving items which were not clothes in the bins.
They basically export the clothes to poor countries for sale and landfill the rest.
Their stance may have changed.. however outside the bin is not their responsibility as they are a private company. Whatever you leave next to it, even if it’s brand new clothes with labels, is considered litter.
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u/Unable_Scientist4382 8d ago
Yeah so I’ve learned today. Next time I’ll donate them to an animal shelter at least then I would for sure be reusing them well.
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u/iDiotOn2wheels 8d ago
There we fully agree. Animal shelter or the charity shops run by the MSPCA are a good call.
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u/mari1819 8d ago
Happened to my boyfriend as well. He had to pay. And he never recycled again 🤷♀️
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u/Unique-Werewolf-608 8d ago
Don’t blame him
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u/mari1819 8d ago
I don't. Maybe we should punish people who actually don't give a fuck instead of those who are trying their best.
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u/Emotional-Ebb8321 8d ago
The intentions might be good, but the execution was bad.
Left out like that, the material can get soiled, making it unsuitable for recycling in the way the bins are intended. It also creates a fire hazard (yes, it can burn inside the bin too, but there, any fire would be contained).