The Environment
...our biggest asset

The Environmental Management System of the Fondazzjoni Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem
has been certified MSA EN ISO 14001:2004 by the Malta Standards Authority.

Click here to read the full Press Release in PDF format

Our Environmental Policy

The Fondazzjoni Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem believes that we have a responsibility to care for and protect the environment in which we operate. We are fully committed to improving environmental performance across all of our activities, and will encourage other NGOs, partners and members of the wider community to join us in this effort. The foundation has identified the significant aspects and impacts to be in the areas of energy use, raw material use, waste generation, emissions to air/water, water use and transport. We will strive to:

The Fondazzjoni Bethlehem f’Għajnsielem has established a series of objectives and targets to support this environmental policy objectives and will periodically review performance and publish these results.
 

Members of the Fondazzjoni Bethlehem f’Ghajnsielem during a Fire Awareness course receiving training on how to operate a fire extinguisher.   Members of the Fondazzjoni Bethlehem f’Ghajnsielem receiving training on how to use a fire blanket and on how to extract a victim from a smoke-filled room.   The Bethlehem f’Ghajnsielem Safety Team in action during an injury simulation exercise in conjunction with the Malta Red Cross Gozo Branch and during a fire drill with partial evacuation with the help of the Civil Protection Department Gozo.

Click here to download the
ISO14001 Awareness & Training presentation in PDF
 

In an effort to do our part for Eco-Gozo and see that it is a success
we have adopted the following measures:

Christmas is NOT a time to cut down trees, but to plant them…
Christmas is about birth and life and not destruction.

Ta Passi fields before Christmas of 2008

...and today

Prime Minister's Tips for a Greener Christmas

• Reuse your old decorations rather than buying new ones. Old ornaments that wear out and lose their paint can be given a new look with some paint, glitter and some shiny string or ribbon.
• Make your own Christmas tree from recycled materials e.g. plastic bottles, old scraps of wood, etc.
• The traditional crib is made from used newspapers, used paper, expanded polystyrene, cork and several other materials which may be considered as waste.
• Alternatively you may use large weathered stones from your garden to build a stone crib; do not dismantle rubble walls! You can return these stones to their original environment once the season is over.
• Make your crib more interesting by making your own pasturi from waste materials e.g. use old toys with clothes made from old textiles.
• Use spent light bulbs to make your own tree decorations; paint them in bright colours and add glitter to make them shiny; cover a light bulb with a brown sock or stretchy material; produce ears out of felt and use felt pieces for eyes, nose, and mouth and you’ve got a reindeer ornament. Tie a string around the top to secure the brown fabric and make a second loop to hand the ornament on the tree.
• Scratched CDs can be turned into Christmas tree ornaments.
• Use old candles and food colouring to make Christmas candles of different shapes and sizes; you may use a used polystyrene food container to create a base and decorate with prinjoli which you find on the ground under trees.
• Instead of throwing old household ornaments away, come up with other ideas to save them like covering with ribbons, coloured buttons, or sea shells. You can make some unique family decorations this way. Colour them with paint and create ornaments, candle holders, and wreath accessories.
• The tree branches which you find in your garden or in the countryside can be weaved together to form a natural wreath decorated with ribbon or anything of your choice.
• Pieces of discarded wood from household projects can be made into nativity scene figures, crosses, wooden angels, and toys by someone who is skilled in wood working.
• Pieces of waste aluminium foil may be used to produce shiny ornaments such as stars.
• You can also produce your own original gifts to give to your friends and family; apart from being inexpensive, your own homemade gifts may be more appreciated. For example you may produce your own soft toys or rag dolls from old textiles for the kids and renovate/decorate an old wooden frame to give to a friend.
• Produce your own Christmas cards from old cards. You can print your own personalised message.
• Here are some more tips for a wasteless Christmas. With regards to food and drink, for example, one can try the following:
• When shopping, avoid goods which involve unnecessary packaging or complicated mixed material packaging which can make recycling difficult.
• Try to buy food and drink packaged in materials that can be recycled.
• Say no to unwanted plastic bags! Always use a reusable shopping bag or reuse plastic bags. Don’t accept bags that you don’t need.
• Avoid using paper plates, cups and napkins.
• Cook as much as you need; find ways to use your leftovers. Try to limit your portions, avoid wasting food!

If you are shopping for presents:

• Buy gifts which are durable. Things which break easily will just end up as waste and cannot be reused by anybody.
• Where possible avoid buying (or requesting) presents which rely on disposable parts, including batteries.
• Buy recycled! Buying products that have a recycled content is just as important as actually recycling. It is essential that markets for recycled products are developed.
• If you’re not sure what to buy, why not give money or gift vouchers? You can buy garden centre, cinema or theatre ticket vouchers.
• How about buying a gift that will last for a whole year? Examples include: sponsorship of an animal or membership of an organisation.
• Consider buying presents that are environmentally friendly or produced in a sustainable way.

When wrapping and decorating presents
and buying Christmas cards, one can:

• Choose decorations which can be reused, rather than flimsy ones which will be used once and thrown away. You can also have fun making decorations from scrap materials.
• Wrap a gift in a gift. For example, put kitchen utensils inside an attractive tea towel, or give a child a backpack with more treasures inside.
• Cut down on what you buy. Gift tags can be made from old greetings cards. Any kind of unusual paper can be used to wrap gifts.
• There’s no point recycling rubbish if we don’t buy recycled products. Make sure that we use recycled cards, tags and wrapping paper or make your own. Also, after the big day, make sure your Christmas cards don’t go to waste – take them to a recycling point such as to the nearest BringIn Site.
• Instead of sending a card, why not send a message or electronic Christmas card to friends and family? A telephone call may be appreciated even more.