Almuñécar wins highest national beach cleaning award

The jury valued the work carried out by the workers in the collection of floating solid waste and greasy substances in waters close to the shore, swimming areas and Marina del Este, eliminating waste that cannot be removed by land-based cleaning services and adapting this service to the needs of Almuñécar's coastline, which includes La Herradura, while also guaranteeing safety in coastal areas.

The councillor for beaches, Lucía González, said: "Receiving the Escoba de Platino is a source of enormous pride for Almuñécar and La Herradura, because it recognises the daily effort made by the town hall to keep our beaches in the best possible condition throughout the year".

She added that "this award also comes just a day after the renewal of the Blue Flags of our beaches and Marina del Este, which shows that Almuñécar continues to be a benchmark in environmental quality, services and sustainability along the entire Andalusian coastline".

The boats that have been in use since last summer are new, reinforcing a service that was already in operation last year but now has improved navigations. The boats are equipped with two two-metre hydraulic baskets, each capable of a four-metre wide front sweep.

As a safety measure, the engines are inboard and are equipped with nozzles whose output is by jet, not propeller, which minimises any risk in the event of contact with swimmers. In addition, they are monitored in real time, which allows their exact location to be known.

In addition, González wanted to thank "the involvement and coordinated work of the municipal services, concessionary companies, operators, lifeguards and technical staff who make it possible to maintain such high quality standards", adding that "our coastline is one of Almuñécar's great assets and we will continue to look after it with the utmost responsibility".

The competition organisers stressed that this recognition rewards "excellence, commitment and the impact generated in the environmental field", as part of awards considered among the most important in Spain in the field of urban cleaning and environmental management.

The official presentation of the awards will take place on 10 June at IFEMA Madrid, as part of the events organised by ATEGRUS.