Storms and lack of civic awareness fill Malaga city beach with wet wipes

Huelin beach in Malaga city woke up to a carpet of wet wipes on Monday morning, following a stormy weekend and rainfall. The strong easterly wind that accompanied storm Emilia wreaked havoc, especially on Saturday. With these phenomena, the dragging of reeds and all kinds of debris to the coast is expected.

The weather is not only to blame for the picture on Monday morning. Civic awareness is essential to keeping the sewage network in good condition. Wet wipes are a huge environmental problem for the coast. They should never be flushed down the toilet, even if the label says they are biodegradable. They are not. Even when they break up, they end up forming clumps and causing blockages. They clog pipes, pumping stations and wastewater treatment systems, and release microplastics.

According to data from municipal water company Emasa, wet wipes account for 92% of the solids that reach the city's wastewater treatment plants. The problem is particularly serious in San Andrés, Huelin, La Térmica and Sacaba Beach. In many cases, they take 600 years to disappear.

Emasa removed a total of 2,197 tonnes of solid waste from wastewater last year - 6% less than in 2023, which reflects the downward trend that has been recorded in recent years, from the 3,721 collected in 2017. However, most of this decrease is a consequence of the measures and investments that Emasa has been implementing to ensure that the waste is drier and more compact in order to reduce weight and volume, which is why Malaga city council is insisting on greater citizen collaboration.

The cleaning and removal of solid waste in the networks, pumping stations and treatment plants, as well as the transfer of this waste to the Los Ruices environmental centre, costs Emasa 1.9 million euros per year, to which must be added the investments made to reduce the presence of solid waste. Of the waste, 45.7% was extracted in the periodic cleaning of the municipal sewage network; 40.3% was retained in the screening systems of the Guadalhorce and Peñón del Cuervo wastewater treatment plants (EDAR); and 13.9% was evacuated from the wastewater pumping stations (EBAR) operating in the city which are equipped with solid waste removal systems.

The figures for the two treatment plants (Guadalhorce and Peñón del Cuervo) show 874 tonnes of waste, compared to 697 tonnes the previous year.

The sewerage network is made up of collectors, pipes, treatment plants, pumping stations. There are clogs across the entire network, which costs a lot for the municipal coffers. Five years ago, Emasa undertook work costing more than 600,000 euros to minimise the impact of this waste, which can consist of various items: baby wipes, eyeglass cleaners, hydrogel for hands, cleaning leather, windows, dashboards, make-up removers. Other high-impact items include cotton swabs and condoms.

In addition to investments in cleaning, the water company has launched numerous campaigns, the most recent one last summer. The company has now once again urged the public to cooperate.

To reduce these environmental damages and costs, in recent years Emasa has installed more screens at pumping stations to remove as much waste as possible before it reaches treatment plants and to minimise the damage it causes to installations and processes. It also has a plan in place for the installation of roughing systems at storm relief points to minimise incidents. The company's investment plan also includes improvements to the sewerage network.