Local residents take action by cleaning up their litter-strewn surroundings

A group of 45 people came together to clean up the waste littered along their residential development's three-kilometre access road and the nearby Guadalmansa river on Saturday 5 November.

Residents of Urbanización Parque Botánico, located next to the A-7 motorway and just north of Cancelada (Estepona) but technically a part of Benahavís, know exactly what the problem is. "It's ultimately the anti-social behaviour of people that is responsible for all the litter along the roads," said the resident group's vice president, Herman de Vries. "If you drive down our access road it's clean and as soon as you get to the part that belongs to Estepona, you see mountains with rubbish lying on the road," he said.

Parque Botánico have also challenged other locals to join their cause. "Unfortunately, the surrounding developments have yet to respond to our request to cooperate or participate," De Vries said. "I hope that we serve as an example and they will soon join us in working together to ensure a better and cleaner living environment."