For the European Week of Waste Reduction in 2020 Majjistral Nature and History Park will be focusing on the theme of Invisible Waste.

It is an interesting topic as the waste we will be discussing is not literally invisible but often goes unnoticed. We feel that invisible waste could be seen as more of a threat to the natural environment than visible waste since it is less likely to be picked up and disposed of in a responsible manner.

At Majjistral Park different habitats are affected by different litter issues. At the beach of Golden Bay there are large amounts of micro-plastics in the sand which often go unnoticed by visitors to the beach and are being eaten by the fish in the sea. It is also common to see wet wipes being left on the sides of footpaths – do people realise that wet wipes can take hundreds of years to break down? And cigarette butts are still thrown on the ground even though we not know how many toxins are being released into our oceans from this littering.

This is why Majjistral Park this year will run an online educational campaign through posts on our social media to raise awareness about Invisible Waste.

Part of this campaign will involve carrying out a clean up of an area that has been a dumping ground for years but continues to go unnoticed by most Park Visitors since it is an area below the cliffs that is not accessed regularly or very visible but is having an impact on the natural habitat. It is also a very difficult area to get to since it cannot be accessed by any vehicles.

Through this campaign we would like to instill a sense of responsibility and care of the countryside and to show why it is so important to stop littering.