We don’t seem to learn. The coastline environment of Ibiza and Formentera is still full of all kinds of waste, mainly plastics. And to prove it, the results of the three hour clean-up day that took place on Sunday morning on the beach of es Cavallet, in the heart of the ses Salinas Natural Park on Ibiza and Formentera.
Although just a week ago there was another similar activity in the same sandy area, the amount of waste recovered is frightening … and outrageous. Dozens of large bags of garbage have been filled, details the councilor Monica Fernández, who participated in the event along with about twenty volunteers, many of them from lsa Associació de Voluntaris d’Eivissa. This activity was scheduled to coincide with the celebration of World Environment Day and the association Conciencia Plástica also participated.
The volunteers mainly removed microplastics from the beach, which soon, to the despair of the defenders of the environment, will be officially incorporated into the ecosystem (so overwhelming is their presence). But there were also “a lot” of cigarette butts, larger debris and, above all, pellets. What are they? Agnès Torres, biologist and founder of Conciencia Plástica, explains that these “pellets” are the base material that factories receive from oil refineries to make any plastic object. They are transported in containers on board the large container ships and when they fall into the sea we can seen how easy it is for them to end up along any part of the coast.
Agnès Torres says that when they began their crusade to clean the coast of Ibiza and Formentera (Gustavo Sánchez joins her in the fight) a few years ago, bulky waste dominated the white sand. “When we started there was a lot of large waste and after much work to raise awareness it is noticeable that citizens are not so free in throwing them away; before it was not frowned upon, but now it is”.
Microplastics a huge problem for the environment
Torres warns that the serious problem “is now with microplastics and macroplastics”. and this new waste? “It is between micro-waste (five millimeters at most) and macro-waste, such as plastic bottles and other objects that arrive with the currents”.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.