The problem of pollution, mainly by the garbage left by the population during their stay and visit, puts at risk the extension of the certification
Mazatlan , Sinaloa .- The Operator and Beach Manager promotes and manages the cleanup throughout the coastal area of Mazatlan with the aim of preserving the certification of the Gaviotas and Verde Camacho beaches this year, as well as achieving the qualification of two more with recreational use in the short term: Brujas and Sábalo.
However, one of the factors that put at risk this project of extension of certification of beaches, is the problem of pollution, mainly by the garbage left by the population during their stay and visit.
Currently, Mazatlán has 567 meters of certified beach with recreational use located in the Golden Zone.
Among the solid waste collected are plastic bags, disposable bags, straws, fritangas wrappers, PET containers, cigarette butts, glass bottles, syringes and condoms.
According to an inventory carried out by the Beach Operator in each of the cleaning days, it was detected that the main pollutant that appears in the coastal area of the port is the presence of cigarette butts.
Since the Operadora de Playas has been operating, more than 80 thousand cigar filters have been collected on the beaches of Olas Altas, Pinitos, Playa Norte, Malecón, Zona Dorada and Cerritos.
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Playa Sábalo is one of the proposals for certification, the other one is Playa Brujas.
It is known that cigarette butts can take up to 25 years to degrade, which concentrate toxic substances such as nicotine, tar, arsenic, lead, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
Studies show that cigarette butts have a high content of cadmium, a highly toxic metal that is obtained as a by-product in the refining of zinc minerals, and is considered to be harmful to health, which is washed away by seawater and becomes in fish food.
CLEANING DAYS
Since its creation as a decentralized public body, in May 2018, the Operadora y Administradora de Playas drew up an action plan that includes three axes: charging for the use of the federal zone; certify and maintain the bay, as well as the sustainable development of beaches, in collaboration with Codesin, Municipal Public Services and the Clean Beaches Committee.
At least 500 meters of stretch of beach is required for certification.
Among its objectives, Mazatlan stands out as an important destination at national and international level with the offer of a better condition of the bay, so it organizes at least one day of mass cleaning on the port beaches every month.
Rogelio Olivas Osuna, director of the agency, reported that there is currently an awareness campaign aimed at society, which includes visits to schools and field trips so that the student population knows the impact generated by garbage on the beaches.
On the other hand, minimum clean-up days are held once a month, and it supports different sectors, civil associations and the schools themselves with induction and training courses, when they have some activity on the beach.
Personnel of the Mexican Institute of Certification will come next month to evaluate the beaches Gaviotas and Verde Camacho.
“So far this year we have made 10 clean-up days, in which the impact we have generated has been strongly felt, especially in social networks, due to the great participation of citizens,” he said.
He noted that today as never before, people are more interested in taking care of the beach environment.
“Right now they are not only worried, but they are taking care of us, every day we have had a better response from the citizens and also from the private sector, in which they have been supporting us in different days,” he added.
The Operadora de Playas has managed to gather the participation of 17 hotels and more than 150 people, in which solid waste is collected in the order of 35 to 212 kilograms, according to the sections and number of participants.
So far this year, different beach areas have been covered, trying to ensure that the days are not fixed at one point, but cyclical.
As a result, you have an inventory of what people throw in each of the coastal areas.
The common denominator in all of them and the most worrying is that the strongest pollutant detected is the issue of cigarette butts.
This residue prevails in Olas Altas, Playa Pinitos, Playa Norte, in beaches of the Malecón, Playa Gaviotas, Playa Sábalo, Pueblo Bonito, Playa Brujas and beaches of Isla de la Piedra.
“There are many kilometers of coastline that Mazatlan has, but we are starting with the personnel we have and especially with the great support of the citizens in this issue,” he said.
INVENTORY BY BEACH
Olivas Osuna says that in all the beaches there is a common denominator: the presence of cigarette butts, which is what has been most found in the collection of garbage.
He commented that in some cases synergy has been achieved with the people who visit the beaches, who are now the ones who report to the people who throw or leave trash on the coast, as in the case of Olas Altas.
When talking about garbage collected, this last beach, is characterized by the presence of unicel glasses, mainly for the theme of beverages known as “micheladas” that are sold in that sector of the Malecón, and the pyrotechnic waste, for the events that they are made there.
Pinitos beach is distinguished by the collection of straw and cigarette butts.
In the more than three kilometers of beaches of the Malecón, between Playa Norte and Valentinos, everything has been found: disposable unicel, PET plastics, single-use bags that deliver in self-service stores, fritangas wrappers and as everywhere , cigarette butts.
The garbage found on the beaches of the Golden Zone is characterized by the presence of cigarette butts, PET containers, lids or capes and plastic bags.
And in the area of Cerritos, the beaches are distinguished by the presence of non-returnable glass and bottles that endanger not only the marine fauna, but bathers who flock to that part of the coast.
In all these beaches have been collected 80 thousand cigarette butts, which are sheltered and will be exhibited at the time, with the intention of opening the eyes to the public on the impact that is generating in Mazatlan, not just in the health of the smokers, but the pollution that entails in the seas.
BEACH CERTIFICATION
Mazatlán has two certified beaches based on the NMX-AA-120-SCFI-2016 standard that Sectur performs in coordination with Semarnat: Gaviotas, with 567 meters for recreational use, and Playa Verde Camacho, with an area of six kilometers as an area priority conservation, both with a white flag that distinguishes them as clean beaches.
The Operadora y Administradora de Playas is focused on cleaning tasks to preserve the certification of these two beaches, since next month personnel from the Mexican Certification Institute will come to assess them.
But at the same time, it works together with the Secretariat of Sustainable Development of the State Government to start this year with the procedures and procedures to request the certification of two more beaches for recreational use.
“Right now we are evaluating first the proposals of which beaches we see more viable, we have as proposal Playa Brujas for recreational use and we are looking at the possibility of another one in the Sábalo zone, of the hotel sector; we occupy a minimum of 500 meters, we are seeing where the other beach would be from, “he said.
He commented that most likely it is from the strip that corresponds to the hotel La Misión to Pueblo Bonito, which is a beach attended by many Mazatlan families for its calm waters.
Rogelio Olivas announced that the certification of one of these two beaches will be requested first, and when the process ends, the other will follow.
NUMBERS
80,000 cigar butts have been collected since last August to the beaches of Mazatlan.
10 days of beach cleaning has organized Operadora y Administradora de Playas in the port.
200 deposits for PET were placed along the beaches of Mazatlan.
133 kilograms of PET were collected in the high season of Easter on the beaches.
TRASH FOUND ON BEACHES
OLAS ALTAS
Disposable cups and plates unicel
Cigarette butts
Pyrotechnic waste
PINITOS BEACH
Popotes
Cigarette butts
PLAYAS DEL MALECÓN
(Monument to the Fisherman to Valentinos)
Cigarette butts
Disposable Unicel
PET
Plastic bags
Fritangas wrappers
BEACHES OF ZONA DORADA
Cigarette butts
PET
Lids
Plastic balls
CERRITOS
Glass bottles
Cigarette butts
SOURCE: Operadora y Administradora de Playas
WHAT DO PEOPLE LEAVE ON BEACHES?
Plastic bags
Disposable unicel (plates, glasses and trays)
PET (containers and cap)
Cigarette butts
Glass bottles
Popotes
Fritangas wrappers
Syringes
Glasses
Condoms
Pieces of wood
BOX
COLLECTORS: HAZARDOUS WASTE
97% of the cigarettes that are consumed today worldwide have filters, of these, more than 80% are cellulose acetate. These butts are the biggest cause of garbage in the world. It is estimated that more than 4.5 trillion butts are disposed of per year.
The cigarette butts can take up to 25 years to degrade, which concentrate the toxic substances of the smoke. Some of these substances are: nicotine, tar, arsenic, lead, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
Studies show that cigarette filters have high contents of cadmium, which is considered a metal harmful to health, so that cigarette butts should be treated as hazardous waste.
