Tons of plastic, packaging and logs: the waste that invades the Balearic Sea

PalmaAt certain times of the summer, so much plastic can accumulate on the Molinar beach (Palma) that swimming can become unhealthy. Due to tides and coastal currents, this is one of the points where the most dirt concentrates, but there is dirt everywhere. The government's coastal cleaning service removed a total of 7.1 tons of waste from the sea and coasts of the Balearic Islands during the month of July. This is 10.7% more than the 6.5 tons from July last year, and the Ministry of the Sea has detailed to ARA Balears that it plans to remove around 30 tons of waste in the 2026 season. Where did it come from?

According to technicians from the department, Mallorca is the island where the most waste is concentrated, because it has the most coastline and boats. Thus, 3.4 tons of waste have been removed from Mallorca; 1.8 from Menorca; 1.4 from Ibiza, and 388 kilograms from Formentera, with a daily average of 231.31 kilograms of waste. Plastic has been the most common waste, accounting for 48.23% of the total: mainly containers, but also remains of boats, large pieces, and material from beaches and ships that, due to strong winds, reach the sea. The second is wood, which accounts for 32.91%.

According to the service data, 40% of the waste removed is derived from human activity, while the remaining 60% is natural debris, such as wood and vegetation. 85% moves by sea and 15% has a terrestrial origin. The geographical origin cannot be known, because the waste is transported by marine currents according to the wind and heat. In fact, high temperature favors the formation of thermal wind from the sea towards the land. Therefore, in summer periods, it is common for waste found in the water to move towards the sea. The fact that they concentrate in specific points, such as El Molinar, is related to the dynamics of the currents and the configuration of the bay itself.

Trunks, engines, boats

The Government's cleaning service received nine notices related to waste this July; four corresponding to boats with mechanical problems; two, to incidents with boats, and three, to the removal of large logs. Among the special actions, a chair, an engine, and logs were removed in Mallorca, while in Menorca three logs, a fragment of a boat, and a significant concentration of plastic waste were removed. In Ibiza, the service removed a pallet, a large buoy, and several poles, while in Formentera logs were also extracted.

The service also detected an increase in the presence of jellyfish in bathing areas this July, collecting ten kilos of specimens of different species. A study published by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) in 2021 suggested that the warming of the sea caused by the climate crisis could explain the massive arrival of jellyfish on the Mediterranean coast over the last few decades.