Marine litter collected

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Radio Sintonia:

About two tons of marine litter are collected on the coasts of Fuerteventura in recent months.

The Cabildo de Fuerteventura, through the staff of the Employment Plan 'Mima su Isla', reports that it has collected in the first months of the year about two tons of marine litter from the coasts and beaches of the island.



The action of cleaning and collection of waste was carried out in the north and south of the island of Majorera, with special emphasis on the areas with the greatest arrival of marine litter, as well as the most remote and most difficult to collect points.

Of the discharges registered on the majoreras coasts, the participants explain that almost 75% of them corresponded to waste of plastic origin, specifically single-use, "such as food and cosmetic containers next to caps, caps and drink bottles".

In the same way, of the total waste seized, "the percentage of metal residues found near the beaches, such as vehicle parts, mattress bases, hammocks and even appliances" stand out, according to the participants.

At this point, from the area of environmental sustainability of the Cabildo, the importance of using the appropriate waste managers for each of the aforementioned wastes is promoted, such as the clean points for the collection of household appliances.

The project, organized by the Cabildo de Fuerteventura in collaboration with the Canary Islands Employment Service, seeks to improve the working and training conditions of the participants, while aiming to restore environmental damage through different actions.

In this sense, the collection of marine waste in points of special vulnerability on the island, has been developed according to the methodology set by the Spanish Marine Strategies of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, in order to find the possible sources of origin of the waste and carry out a work and reflection on the possibilities of minimizing the impact.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Radio Sintonia:

1,351 kilos of marine litter collected off the coast of Fuerteventura.

The Employment Plan 'El Cabildo Mima su Isla', promoted by the Ministry of Employment Promotion of the Cabildo, continues with the work of collecting and classifying marine debris found on the coast of the island. In the first half of the year, the beneficiaries of this plan have collected an average of 1,351.84 kilos of marine debris.



Regarding the last two years, it is observed that there is an increase of 20% in the concentration of wet wipes on the coasts of the island of Fuerteventura, according to data from the Marine Litter Observatory of Fuerteventura, with the plastic category having the most incidence.

Wet wipes contain artificial fibers that cause it to disintegrate in the form of microfibers and microplastics that end up causing an environmental impact on marine ecosystems.

It is a non-biodegradable waste that has been increasing, and that has been unduly thrown into the sanitation network, which can cause traffic jams in it, or have been abandoned on the beach.

In that sense, the counselor of the area, Nuria Cabrera explains that 'Mima tu Isla' "seeks to improve the working and training conditions of the participants, while restoring environmental damage through different actions".

As it moves, another objective of this project is to generate scientific knowledge to monitor one of the greatest environmental challenges and concern of citizens: marine litter. In this way, we can work together to improve governance and strategies for this problem.

Tamara: in Noticias they are saying that an average of 1351.84 kilos has been collected each month this year so far. That's 8100 kilos in 2023.