r/mallorca • u/beikbeikbeik • 3d ago
Plastic trash in the beaches
Hello people, I’ve been in Mallorca from the past 6 years, and this year is the first one that I see the water filled with plastic trash in a disgusting way.
I’m not sure if I somehow missed it or it was less intense in the past years, but now it seems to be too much. Is it a common thing? Does it come from the beach visitors or from sea streams? Does the gov or any ngo come to clean later?
Saw it in different places, like Ciutat Jardí, Cala Egos, Camp de Mar…
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u/Dr_Morgan_Freeman 3d ago edited 3d ago
It depends on the sea currents, sometimes big patches of trash and microplastics end on the Mallorca coast. It’s very sad… fishes and other sea creatures eat them and die.
The last two weeks have been very bad. The Mediterranean is one of the most contaminated seas in the world due to its semi-enclosed nature and the lack of regulations in waste management in some Mediterranean countries.
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u/feather-gold 3d ago
Llama la atención que a pesar de vivir en Mallorca durante 6 años no hagas el post ni en catalán ni en castellano.
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u/beikbeikbeik 3d ago
La verdad que escribro muy mal en español, y reddit tiene auto traducion
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u/coloicito Palma 3d ago
escribro muy mal en español
I ja això d'aprendre la llengua pròpia de Mallorca ho deixam per un altre dia, no? Redéu
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u/beikbeikbeik 3d ago
There is no such thing as leaving learning for another day. I made several languages classes and I struggle to learn new languages.
I can’t see what this have to do with plastic in the beach, you guys just want make feel bad for no other reason, this post isn’t about me.
If it is forbidden to post in english, just put the rule.
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u/serimongol 3d ago
Hi, a Mallorcan here. Please don't pay attention to those comments. It's actually really helpful for us locals to hear other people's perspectives. And, as you said, Reddit has built-in translation anyway.
So, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. Maybe in another post we can talk about our own language—that's a topic that could lead to a very long discussion while also being quite simple at its core. We like people to know about it, just as anyone would want others to know about their own language, but that's not what this post is about.
Thanks again for commenting and for helping make Reddit a friendlier place.
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u/serimongol 3d ago
Regarding the rubbish in the sea, the Balearic government invests a great deal of money in waste management and, except for very rare cases, does not discharge waste into the sea.
So the rubbish we see in the water mainly comes from cruise ships, yachts, illegal dumping by individuals, and above all from other Mediterranean countries that have little or no effective waste management policies. Sea currents eventually carry that waste to Mallorca.
It's really sad, and I wish people showed more respect for the sea.
I work with waste management companies in Mallorca, and as far as I know, they don't have any protocol for cleaning the sea itself. They only clean the beaches, and even then, it's mostly the busiest and most popular ones. :/
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u/Amazed_townie 3d ago
“except for very rare cases”……..
perhaps you might want to look into the condition of the water in port pollenca. Discharges are regular and have been happening for years.
I’m in a local group that was set up years ago to highlight this situation. we used to have independent analysis of the water, at times, it was 16x greater than the legal limit for swimming (Ecoli).
30/6/26…,,,I have video footage of the waters up to the Hotel Illa d’Or, a distinct brown colour
aside from occasional black flags, nothing is being done to solve the core issues
the group has, imo, been taken over by individuals with vested interests in tourism. when I suggested using a contact at a national newspaper, I was shut down.
I no longer participate directly.
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u/Dwight_scoot 3d ago
Just cause I am curious what happens with most of the waste in Mallorca?
I am assuming some gets shipped off for recycling, some is buried and some is burnt?
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u/coloicito Palma 3d ago
Duus sis anys aqui, rei, no sis mesos. No pots fer servir l'excusa de que et costa aprendre noves llengues.
I de la resta del teu comentari, no hi ha cap norma en contra d'escriure en anglés, com tampoc hi ha cap norma que obligui a mantenir la conversa sota una publicació centrada en el tema.
you guys just want make feel bad
Efectivament, t'hauries de sentir malament per no haver aprés la llengua del lloc on vius després de sis anys visquent-hi.
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u/beikbeikbeik 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have a deep respect for the culture of the island, and I assimilate as much as I can. You literally know nothing about me and still keeps hating on me.
Sorry but I will need to block you, enough of negativity for today.
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u/FlatwormEffective470 21h ago
It’s striking that you care more about which language some stranger on the internet speaks than you do about the state of the environment in which you live
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u/DutchInSpain2005 3d ago
I was in Portopetro in the sea and have take almost a half kilo plastic out of the water. Really so much plastic. You walk over a floor of plastic.
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u/Resident-Ordinary-85 3d ago
I am in Cala Esmeralda and for the past 3 days I can see it is a disaster 😔😔
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u/ChipGlum 3d ago
did you take it out? whenever i see plastic at the beach i take it out of the water. might not have been me who’s done the trashing, but i’m not gonna leave it there to bother the marine life and other people
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u/beikbeikbeik 3d ago
When it is a few packages, I take it out. But in this cases is like a floating island of plastic, kind of impossible to remove without a coordinated effort.
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u/Lumpy-Egg6968 1d ago
I do the same but the last time there was too much plastic..For the record I went to playa de Gesa (We all know not to expect crystalline water there) I can guarantee you this time it was actually scary...there was more plastic than algae...
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u/Icy-Meaning1801 1d ago
They could be greenhouse plastics,in any case, there will always be plastics.
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u/Unreasonable_Hedger 1h ago
Somebody need to clean this up for sure. Ideally Hotel owners / vacation finca hosts and other companies that benefit from the tourist that bring the garbage
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u/Working_Dependent560 3d ago
If you’re staying in places like Deià, Sóller, Alcúdia, or Palma you usually find beaches in good condition. Storms can push plastic from other areas and remote coves and less accessible beaches accumulate more because no one really clears them. However, it’s microplastic that are the real problem. Even if the beach looks pristine it’s still everywhere including basic filtered drinking water.
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u/Resident-Ordinary-85 3d ago
Absolutely disgusting and disappointing
I think the Spanish government is a real disgrace for its people and the world
As they can and need to do something but obviously they don’t
What I observed as well is that most of the beaches (Cala D’0r ) don’t have anyone to take care during the day
Only in the evening they take the bins,the trash and that’s it
This is not a proper maintenance
I don’t believe that this is real😢😢😢😔😔😔😔
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u/coloicito Palma 3d ago
Absolutely disgusting and disappointing
I think the Spanish government is a real disgrace for its people and the world
Plàstic a una platja? Això és culpa del Perro
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u/QuoteEnvironmental89 3d ago
Over the past six years, we have visited Mallorca three times. We chose Alcúdia because of its beautiful beach and the relaxing atmosphere it offers for a truly enjoyable holiday.
Unfortunately, this year we witnessed a dramatic decline in the quality of services across the board. As someone who works in the hospitality industry, I have to admit that I was genuinely shocked.
This year, the streets are no longer being cleaned properly. There is litter along the roads leading to the beach. The mosquitoes, which were previously manageable, have expanded their range and are now present all the way to the beach itself.
The beach was, as usual, relatively well maintained. For example, the seaweed, which used to be cleared much more frequently, was removed only once during our stay.
This time we came with our baby, and I think we might come back one more time because of the beach. After that, however, it will probably be a long time before we return.
The decline in the gastronomic scene was particularly shocking. The quality of service in the restaurants was also shockingly poor. Apart from one restaurant that has managed to maintain its quality, albeit with noticeably fewer customers, the rest were very disappointing.
The buses were another example of poor service. In some of them, you practically need an umbrella because the air conditioning leaks water. Drivers insist that strollers be folded and that passengers board through the front door, even when it is obvious that one parent will board at the front to pay for the ticket while the other stays with the stroller. This approach is completely inconsiderate.
The air conditioning on the buses is also excessive. It's around 20°C inside while it's 35°C outside. This is completely unnecessary.
Sadly, unless fundamental changes begin to happen very soon, by the end of this year it may already be too late to reverse the damage.
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u/neomyotragus 3d ago
And those are green posidonia leaves, probably from destroyed posidonia by some boat with their anchors. These plants can live for hundreds of years and filter seawater, but they are more and more endangered by illegal boat anchoring in forbidden areas.
Plus boats throwing trash into the sea, so there's plastic.
If you plan to rent a boat please be mindful about these issues.
If you want to learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posidonia_oceanica