Fourteen boats, four coastal boats called " Pelican" and ten beach boats called "Gabinas" (smaller ones that sail close to the shore), are operating along the Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, Estepona, Casares and Manilva coastline this summer. The 'Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental' has again launched this service, which aims to remove waste from our sea. The main task of the former is the prevention of pollution episodes in bathing areas and floating solids' collection, grease, and other waste in open sea waters, up to six miles from the coast. As for the vessels operating on the beaches, their priority work is the collection of floating solids in the area closest to the shoreline.

"It provides quality service and adds value to our beaches along with the services we already provide in terms of lifeguard, our quality Qs, and our cleanliness", said the Mijas Town Councillor for Beaches, José Carlos Martín (Cs). He added, "to this, we add the Mancomunidad service, which we did not have last year due to circumstances beyond our control but which we have taken up again this year".

 

This coastal cleaning service, which Mijas Town Hall financed in the municipality during the summer of 2020, has a cost from the Mancomunidad of 545,710 euros this year. "I know the contract signed is multiannual. We have guaranteed this service's provision for a few years. I think it is important because apart from carrying out this cleaning service it shows beach users we are working on cleaning the water".

The boats began operating on 1st June and will remain until 15th September. The boats work between 8:00 am to 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday and from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays when there is a higher influx of people. "This July, in Mijas, the work carried out has meant the removal of 5.68 cubic metres of waste such as green scum, which has nothing to do with the algae that we remove with our means on the coast, Martín pointed out.

The amount of waste collected is reduced by half.

According to the data, these boats have halved the amount of waste collected in July compared to June. Last month a total of 30.85 cubic metres of waste was collected on the Costa del Sol beachfront, compared to 63.18 cubic metres in June. In July, 18.99 cubic metres of plastic were collected, compared to 46.47 cubic metres in June. The remaining 6 cubic metres were seaweed, 2.89 cubic metres of wood, and 0.64 cubic metres of organic matter.

By municipalities, a total of 2.97 cubic metres were collected in Benalmadena, 1.04 in Casares, 4.04 in Estepona, 3.24 in Fuengirola, 1.04 in Manilva, 10.97 in Marbella, 5.68 in Mijas and 1.95 in Torremolinos, quantities that depend on the kilometres of beach that each town has.
 

Share it with this link: https://mijasint.com/?a=24964