Calpe, Alicante, raised “Smoke-Free Beaches” flags on its key beaches this week. This prohibits smoking on all beaches and coves in the municipality, save for two specified locations on two sandy beaches.
The flag-raising event marks the beginning of the implementation of the new municipal ordinance on coastal use and management, which prohibits smoking along the whole Calpe coastline. The law, which went into force a few days ago, underlines the City Council’s “commitment” to public health and environmental preservation, according to a council release.
The proposal prohibits smoking on all beaches and coves in the municipality, with the exception of two designated locations on the main beaches: La Fossa, near Plaza Mediterrani, and Arenal-Bol, opposite Plaza Colón. Smoking is legal in certain areas, however reusable ashtrays are required. These will be supplied at visitor information centres to keep cigarette butts from landing on the sand.
The City Council stated that this effort also aims to safeguard the environment from “highly polluting” waste products like cigarette butts. In this regard, it emphasised that cigarette butts make up 15% of the debris collected on beaches, which “not only pollute the environment but also pose a risk to marine fauna.”
Thus, hoisting the flags will serve to inform both residents and tourists that the new laws have gone into effect and “reinforce the message of a City Council committed to healthier, waste-free beaches.”
The council stated that it began this trip last year by joining the Valencian Regional Ministry of Health’s Smoke-Free Beaches Network, which established smoke-free zones on the beaches of Arenal-Bol, La Fossa, and Cantal Roig. The ordinance’s implementation marks “a further step towards a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable coastline.”
Calpe City Councillor for the Environment, Pere Moll, stated that “cigarette butts are one of the main sources of pollution in our marine and coastal ecosystems, as a single cigarette butt contaminates 500 litres of seawater, so this measure will help reduce their negative impact.”
Itziar Doval, Councillor for Health Prevention, emphasised that “this action not only seeks to reduce the environmental impact of cigarette butts, but also to protect the health of beachgoers.” We want to create healthy situations in which everyone can enjoy themselves without jeopardising their health,” she added.
Author: Derek Appleton
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