Around fifty volunteers participate in the global clean-up day organised by Sea Life Trust, where 25 kilos of rubbish, mainly plastics and cigarette butts, were collected.
The Benalmádena Town Hall and the Sea Life aquarium organised a clean-up operation on Thursday at Malapesquera beach, involving around fifty volunteers, including the Councillor for Beaches, Presentación Aguilera. This initiative is part of the global 24-Hour Global Clean-Up challenge, led by Sea Life Trust, which mobilises citizens worldwide each year to remove waste from beaches, coastlines, waterways, and natural spaces.
During the event, approximately 25 kilos of waste were collected, including containers and other plastic items, papers, cigarette butts, and various types of rubbish. The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness about the impact of this waste on wildlife and marine ecosystems.
According to data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), over 11 million tonnes of plastic enter the seas each year, a figure that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates to be over 14 million tonnes annually. Without effective measures, plastic waste flows into aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple by 2040.
Pollution goes beyond the image of beaches littered with waste. Bags, containers, and ropes can be ingested by marine animals who mistake them for food, while other objects can cause entanglement. Furthermore, as plastics degrade, they break down into microplastics that enter food chains and affect marine biodiversity.
The Councillor for Beaches highlighted the investment effort made by the Town Hall each year to maintain cleanliness along the municipality's coastline, although she warned that municipal efforts are insufficient without citizen involvement.
"This is of no use if at the same time there is no awareness about the importance of keeping our marine environment free from plastics, hence the importance of these days"
For her part, the Marketing Director of Sea Life Benalmádena, María Morondo, stated that the aquarium is working to reduce waste, especially single-use plastics.
"Actions like this clean-up demonstrate that when we combine efforts, we can create a real impact"
The Benalmádena event is part of the 2026 edition of the 24-Hour Global Clean-Up, which mobilised teams from various parts of the planet for 24 hours on September 17. The 2025 edition brought together 994 volunteers at 39 locations, who removed 2,216 kilos of waste. For this year, over 40 clean-up actions have already been registered worldwide.
Sea Life Benalmádena reminds us that disposing of waste in designated areas, reducing the consumption of single-use products, and reusing whenever possible are simple habits that help protect marine ecosystems.
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