Environment

How can we take care of the beaches? Discover how with Kiko in Son Bou!

Did you know that it takes about 450 years for a plastic bottle to disappear? It's incredible, isn´t it? The other day we saw a group of people collecting plastics in a corner of a cove and today we have gathered all of our friends to come and clean the beach of Son Bou which we visit the most.

We love to go swimming in Son Bou. It is large, the sand is soft and the water is usually very clean and clear. It is a very family friendly beach that has a large dune area and, because very open, when the sea gets bad, branches and waste are washed up to the shore that have been thrown from the boats.

Salabres, a road to the beach

At the Royal Son Bou Family Club we have been given garbage bags, gloves and some salabres. They are small sacks of nets that are attached to a ring with a handle and are used to catch fish that are caught with a fishing cane. Today we will use them to collect the waste we find in the sea.

nullIn the early hours of the morning, the machines that clean the sand have passed and there are also boats collecting trash from the water. The beach of Son Bou at that hour is splendid and ready to welcome us all. That's why we waited until the afternoon to get going.

Animals do not like plastic

We approach the virgin area. We walk along the shore, whist bathing our feet. Some people with kayaks have stopped next to us:

  • "We have collected some plastic bags from the sea. They are very dangerous for the fish and turtles because if they were to eat them or get tangled in them, they can die, "one of them explains.

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  • ​​"Do you know that the problem of garbage at sea increases every year? It is like a plague and only a small part of it reaches the beaches. Most of it is plastic bags or bottles, but there are also paper towels or traces of fishing nets around. This all can take up to 600 years to decompose in salt water! "Someone else says angry.

We realized that all this garbage is a mix of things that we throw into the sea or on the sand without thinking about the damage that this causes to the animals and our environment. It also affects our health because with these actions we are contaminating the planet in which we live.

What are containers used for?

What do you do with the remains of your snacks you have taken with you to the beach? We put them in a bag and carry it with us until we can leave it in a trash bin. Normally you can find them when leaving the beach but in the virgin coves of Menorca there is usually nothing to leave it in, so once back home you can deposit everything. It's that simple.

null​We have created two groups: those that will collect in the sea and others in the sand. It is quite clean but we have already filled up a bag with scraps of papers, an empty pot of sun cream, a broken bucket, ....

  • "Hey, look what I have found: some sunglasses! They have been found in the dunes with an old towel. If the crystals brake we can cut ourselves in the feet, "I tell whilst I show my findings.

What can we do to reduce waste?

It is time to rest. The cooks at the Hotel have prepared us some delicious snacks and we sit around the bottles of water that we have brought.

  • "What can we do to reduce the waste we generate?" I ask.
  • "Instead of these bottles we could have brought thermic bottles. These you can fill with water whenever you need to and you can keep on using the same bottle, "someone says.
  • "Always take the trash to the trash container. And it´s better to select the items so they can be recycled correctly, "someone else says.
  • "My mother always tells me that it is not just about cleaning up but about making less mess. When leaving the beach, we should leave it just the way we also found it.
  • "I decided to be a volunteer and collaborate with groups that clean the sea because I like animals very much and we have to take care of them", another person who has just decided to study marine biology says.
  • "I have read that more than 10 million tons of waste is dumped every year, killing more than 100,000 fish and 1 million birds. They even say that there are islands formed by waste, especially plastics, floating in the sea! 

Whilst we collect everything to return back to Club Kikoland, we decided we take more care of the nature because it belongs to everyone and because we want to return back every year in the summer to enjoy Son Bou where we can dive, swim and play as we always did on this lovely beach with white sand and transparent sea. And you, what do you think about the proposals we have made to keep the beaches clean? When will you start to put it into practice?


HOW CAN WE COLLABORATE?

  • Reducing our impact on the beaches we visit.

  • Leaving the waste in the right places.

  • Using trash containers.

  • If you go by boat or kayak, do not throw waste into the sea.

  • Do not waste water from the showers on the beach.

  • And remember: keeping the nature clean benefits us all.

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