Watch: Paradise Bay cleared of 1 tonne of rubbish

Updated 8.35pm - Added video
Wedged in between rocks at Paradise Bay, the red plastic jerrycan stuck out like a sore thumb. So too did the rusted water heater lying atop a pile of driftwood. Decaying plastic bottles dotted the jagged landscape like cactuses in a desert. 
By the time the sun set on the Natura 2000 site, all were gone, carried away by around 60 volunteers who took part in a four-hour Paradise Bay cleanup last Friday. 
READ: Volunteers gather an eye-popping 11 tonnes of waste from Mellieħa
In all, the volunteers [disclosure: this writer among them] cleared just over 1 tonne of waste from the site. 884kg of that was plastic, with another 123kg of glass and  8kg of metal. To put that into perspective, explained #Żibel organisers, a two-litre plastic bottle weighs 18g. 

#Żibel, an eNGO which organises nature clean-ups around Malta, decided to target Paradise Bay on the suggestion of Daniel de Castro of the Malta National Aquarium, organisers said. 
The area is a Special Area of Conservation and a Natura 2000 site, though those protected labels have not done much to help keep the site clean of rubbish. 
Plastic piping, rusted car parts, fishing nets and polystyrene...