Ibiza rids the beach of microplastic at S'Estanyol
They're hard to spot, but if left on the beach, they will stay there for years and years. Microplastics are the silent polluters of Ibiza's natural heritage. They can be found spread around Ibiza's many beaches and 'calas' hidden under the sand polluting the island's marine meadows. Unión Deportiva Ibiza today joined the efforts of ridding this contaminating element of the island's nature. In collaboration with Ibiza Preservation Foundation, the club's footballers of the first squad and the coaching staff took part in a beach clean-up targeting microplastics under the guidance of Giada Forneris, a member of Eivissa Sense Plàstic, an organisation dedicated to ridding the island of non-recyclable plastic by 2023.
The activity took place in s'Estanyol, one of the island's nicest beaches which is located in the Santa Eulària Municipality, and produced five kilos of gathered microplastics. "We can only thank these elite athletes for taking their time to get involved in an activity aimed at helping preserve the island", explained Antonio Oliveró, owner of Cala Bonita restaurant and host of the environmental activity. Oliveró runs a gastronomic business that pursues a philosophy of "doing things in the right way out of love for Ibiza". The alliance between the sky blue club and Ibiza Preservation Foundation shares and follows the same mantra. "We know that cleaning beaches is not the objective, instead it is about reducing waste, but this type of activity serves to raise awareness regarding the fact that we need to focus on preservation. The activity also allows the players to disconnect and enjoy a day out in nature", stated Vanda Mustur representing the foundation.
"It's our obligation to do all we can in order to protect our environment and nature, including calas and beaches, from contaminating waste such as plastic", said Ibiza's captain Sergio Cirio. The squad's leader added that the club's "collaboration" with the environmental organisation is especially important in terms of the future: "My daughter was born in Ibiza and we all need to think about the future that we will leave our kids so that they too can enjoy this beautiful island. By means of our club, these initiatives and messages can be transmitted to our fans. Sport is not the only thing that matters to us, we also care about the environment". The activity concluded with a delicious team lunch at the Cala Bonita restaurant.
Over the coming months, Ibiza will continue to be involved in similar initiatives together with its environmental partner. All of these activities will revolve around the projects pursued by the Ibiza Preservation Foundation, which has four main pillars: promoting local products, protecting marine meadows, studies on sustainability and, of course, the fight against single use plastic.
