The latest action organised by Eco Projects Mallorca, ten divers collected some 450 kilos of rubbish, of which 80% was glass. There were, they say, thousands of champagne bottles.
Professional diver Thomas Heise, a German resident for the past 20 years, is the president of Eco Projects Mallorca. He explains that they only collected a part of what was on the seabed - roughly 25%.
The bottles have accumulated over the years. Thomas adds that there is more awareness nowadays, but some of the bottles were recent. Many of the older bottles had to be dug out of the sand. "People behaved worse then. After parties they threw the bottles into the water."
More awareness, but he says that every day some 50 boats, most of them luxury yachts, pass through the area. "And they still throw bottles into the sea with total impunity."
The two-day operation involved the collection and the cleaning of all the stuff that had been collected. This was to ensure that as little sand as possible was removed. The bottles and everything else were then taken away on a trailer.
Eco Projects Mallorca arrange activities such as this once a month. They provide the opportunity for people to help with conservation. "They are enthusiastic, they want to help. You just have to organise the activity. We must maintain the beauty of the islands."
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I live in the country have been involved in the marine industry for 50 years have never seen people throw bottles in the sea but this morning on the way to Bauhaus on every round about there was so much plastic and general rubbish all over and sorry but I have to say I don’t believe these are tourist the locals are also contributing to this problem beer cans water bottles cigarette box’s all over the show , Sad Why ????
I do love a glass of cava - but this is absolutely obscene!! When we go to the beach we always take a bag for rubbish. Then as a little ‘thank you for having us’ we (and our children) collect up any rubbish we can see around us, that’s been left by others. I’ve noticed a lot of other mums, from all nationalities doing it. Of course we can’t collect the micro-plastics or deep sea cava bottles. But it really does make you feel good. A positive thought for the weekend. And well done divers. Good karma :)
Further thought. If there was a very high bottle charge levied on every Champagne Bottle. Perhaps entreprennerial Divers could recover them!!.
Taxation needs to be applied to every bottle. To cover the cost of recovering those bottles. Or a very high charge put on the return of the bottle. But would the filthy drunken rich pay this charge. Then return the bottle to collect the charge? I DOUBT IT !!!!!.
But we want the wealthy tourists don't we?
Scum