- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
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!
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Torre Pacheco
Alhama de Murcia
Aguilas
Bolnuevo
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abanilla
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Peraleja Golf Resort

AFS WindfoilsCamposol floods Gota friaCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaCosta Calida tourist infoMedical information MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia propertyParamount Theme Park MurciaWeekly Bulletin