ARCHIVED - Spanish waters face the threat of becoming massive plastic traps

More pressure on the Spanish Government is needed to limit the manufacture and sale of plastic products in the first place, particularly in our supermarkets

A study carried out by the ocean conservation group Oceana, has found that certain areas of Spain, particularly large coastal towns and the mouths of rivers, are in danger of becoming massive “plastic traps” as more and more plastic waste accumulates there.

According to Oceana, 92.4 per cent of Spanish waters are very deep (at least 200 metres), the second highest proportion among EU countries, and it is therefore not feasible to remove plastic from them, and at the same time, 99 per cent of all plastics which end up in the sea sink to the bottom rather than remaining on the surface. This means that once plastic is in the ocean it will stay there for a very long time indeed, many compounds not decomposing for 500 years or more.

In addition, the highly built-up nature of Spanish coastal areas and the fact that the Mediterranean is an almost entirely enclosed sea with a complex bottom exacerbate the seriousness of the problem, as plastics accumulate in underwater canyons and depressions

It is for these and other reasons that the areas of Spain identified as being most vulnerable are along the Mediterranean coast, especially around the Balearics, in parts of the Region of Murcia and in the Alboran Sea (the western Mediterranean). Also at risk are the Cantabrian continental platform near Galicia, Cantabria and the Basque Country, and the head of the Ocean plastics campaign in Europe, Natividad Sánchez, warns that there is an urgent need for action given the “reality” in this country.

“The fact that we don’t see waste doesn’t mean that it isn’t there”, Sra Sánchez reiterates, adding that 80 per cent of the plastic in the world’s oceans comes from the land, and is carried out to sea either via sewage, drainage and waste water systems, or by heavy rain and strong winds taking it from urban environments into rivers and coastal bays.

Ricardo Aguilar adds that over the last 15 years hundreds of locations in Spanish waters have been researched, and the one common factor among sites containing large amounts of plastic waste is that the plastic is derived from human activity.

In this context, Oceana is demanding the creation of a legal framework in Spain to implement the 2019 EU Guideline on banning single-use plastics, eliminating plastic cups and other items in bars, restaurants and public buildings, reducing the use of wipes and banning plastic ring-pulls, drinking straws and balloons. These measures, the group says, must be complemented by an increase in the use of re-fillable containers, a tax on single-use plastic items for all but the healthcare sector and a program to remove as much waste from the sea bed as possible.

And for all of us to make a massive effort not to consume so much plastic in the first place, dispose of it in an intelligent fashion and support initiatives to clean our coastlines!