Islands´ beaches to be cleaned every week

A plan to clean 226 beaches a week on the islands between December and April has been drawn up by the Balearic Ministries for the Environment and Tourism, in collaboration with the Foundation for Sustainable Development. The plan, which was presented by the Ministers Jaume Font and Joan Flaquer, is aimed at improving the tourist image of the Balearics and will affect 37 towns on the islands. The coast will be cleaned by hand each week and cleared of solid rubbish (wood, plastic, nets, etc.). The cleaning will not include the algae which are deposited on the beaches every Winter “because we know that these algae protect our beaches from storms and safeguard the sand”, said Minister Font. The Minister highlighted the importance of cleaning every one of the beaches included in the programme “once a week and in some cases twice”, due to the fact that residents and tourists are now using them more. He asked for the collaboration of the affected councils with regard to the disposal of the bags containing the rubbish collected. Flaquer, for his part, highlighted the collaboration between the Ministries and the importance of this new plan, which complements the Summer's water quality plan. Reviewing the plan for the quality of bathing water, undertaken this summer from June to August, Font revealed that a total of 233'416 kilogrammes of solid waste and oils had been collected. This was an average of 1'913 kilos per day. Font highlighted the increasing incidence of wood and vegetation on the beaches, 41 percent of the total collected (due to their weight) and the decrease of plastic, 23 percent, and various organic material, 16 percent. The image of a tourist destination is more than just the price of accommodation and complementary services.
The environment has become a priority and these campaigns for the cleaning and improvement of the beaches and coastline are part of this strategy, which is highly valued by councils and the tourist sector. The Balearics was the region which had the most percentage hotel occupation during September, with 80.5 percent of its places occupied, ahead of the Canaries and Valencia with 70.2 and 69.4 percent respectively.