Marbella removes 1,800 tons of invasive algae in the first half of July

During the first half of July, the Marbella City Council has removed over 1,800,000 kilos of the invasive seaweed rugulopteryx okamurae from the coast, a cleaning effort that has cost the municipal coffers 139,392 euros, as reported this Thursday by councilman Diego López, who has requested support measures from the central government.

This was highlighted by the councilman after stating last Sunday the impossibility of removing the plant debris from the coast, after many areas woke up under a blanket of seaweed due to the high tide, emphasizing that "the municipal effort is titanic, but insufficient without a coordinated response from the administrations."

In the first half of June, the City Council removed over 1,800,000 kilos, equivalent to 90 trucks of 20 tons each, a figure that the councilman has described as “alarming” and that “confirms that this summer we are facing an absolutely overwhelming situation that requires urgent measures from the central government, which is competent in this matter.”

López has denounced the total absence of financial and technical support from the national government, while reminding that “the City Council cannot alone cope with an environmental emergency that is becoming chronic and that directly impacts the daily lives of the residents, the image of the municipality, and its local economy.”

Daily Cleaning Operation

López explained that the City Council maintains an active daily cleaning operation from 02:00 AM to 10:00 AM, during which trucks operate each day to transport the seaweed removed to a local administration plot for drying.

For loading, 2 loader machines, 3 backhoes, and 1 dumper are used, along with additional staff, before the heavy vehicles must leave the beaches for safety.

“The action in the early hours of the morning seeks to minimize the nuisance to users and try to ensure that the beaches are in optimal condition each morning,” the municipal official highlighted. Just in the first 15 days of July, the work has cost Marbella 139,392 euros.

Treatment of Plant Debris

The removed seaweed is accumulated for drying and weight reduction and then transferred to the Costa del Sol Environmental Complex, where the City Council must pay a fee of 42.94 euros per ton for its treatment as plant waste.

“This represents an additional extra cost that we are also assuming alone, without help from any administration,” López lamented, detailing that the most affected beaches by this wave of seaweed have been Nueva Andalucía, Fontanilla, Venus, and Cabopino, where the highest concentration has been recorded. Intensive interventions have also been carried out in San Pedro Alcántara and La Bajadilla.

“We are talking about many kilos of seaweed arriving at our beaches daily, generating bad smells, preventing swimming, and severely affecting environmental quality,” López emphasized.

Finally, the councilman added that “we are aware that the cleaning and maintenance of the beaches is a municipal responsibility, but this is a global problem that exceeds ordinary tasks and affects the integrity of the public maritime-terrestrial domain, which is the responsibility of the Central Government.”