Travel

Tenerife beaches popular with British tourists is swamped with plastic revealing the shocking levels of pollution


A BEACH in Tenerife that’s popular with tourists has a shocking level of plastic pollution, as one viral video has revealed.

The video of Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen captured the volume of waste on the sandy shore where families were playing and enjoying the sun.

 The plastic-ridden beach is popular with tourists
The plastic-ridden beach is popular with tourists

María Celma, founder of the ocean clean-up group Océano Limpio Tenerife (Clean Ocean Tenerife), filmed the video.

In the video, which has been shared nearly 8,000 times on Facebook, the shards of plastic and other rubbish are seen covering the entire bay.

The rubbish has been washed in by the waves, and form lines along the coast. In some areas, it’s even piled up.

She told El Pais: “If I feel frustrated and desolate, and when I see the beach in this state, I show it.

“Whatever day you go, you find plastic.”

 Microplastic lines the beaches
Microplastic lines the beaches
 The plastic is swept in from the North Atlantic
The plastic is swept in from the North Atlantic

Celma warned that no matter how long they work for, “it’s not clean” as they cannot cover enough ground.

Social media users were disgusted, with many calling for corporate firms to reduce the plastic they use when selling items, especially at supermarkets.

While the beach is a particularly disgusting sight, it isn’t the only one – many in the Canary Islands are also suffering from plastic waste pollution.

This is due to the currents in the sea, which drag waste from the North Atlantic to the islands.

 The plastic is too small to be recycled
The plastic is too small to be recycled
 Teams work their hardest to clean up as much as they can
Teams work their hardest to clean up as much as they can

May Gómez, a biology professor at the University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria (ULPGC), told El Pais: “The Canary Islands form a natural barrier against the Gulf Stream and its offshoot, the Canary Current, which means it acts like a garbage collector for what is found in the North Atlantic.”

Sadly, while Celma and her team can clean up to 30kg of plastic a day, it cannot be recycled as it is too small, meaning it is then thrown in the bin.

She urges people to try and cut their waste and to be aware of the plastic they use.

Microplastics not only pollute the land, but are also eaten by fish – which could mean humans are ingesting them too.

Tourists heading to the Mediterranean were warned against using single use plastic as it was breaking down and being consumed by wildlife.

The particles could cause long term health problems with experts warning they could “get into our lungs and digestive systems.”

There are some easy ways to save the planet, as well as save money, such as switching to tap water and using cardboard boxes instead of plastic bags.





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