Brit hols hotspot beaches in Marbella facing emergency as they are SWAMPED by 2,500 tons of rotting stinking seaweed

Scottish Sun

23-04-2025

An army of tractors combs the beaches for hours each morning to clear the mess
BEACH BREAKING POINT Brit hols hotspot beaches in Marbella facing emergency as they are SWAMPED by 2,500 tons of rotting stinking seaweed
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TOP Brit holiday spots are battling an invasion of stinking seaweed that is swamping their beaches and threatening income.
Shorelines along the Costa del Sol face an "environmental emergency" as officials race to clear the rotting mess before it puts off tourists.
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A thick layer of stinking seaweed builds up on Marbella's beach every day and must be cleared
Credit: Marbella Council
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The smelly sludge ruins the usually-pristine beaches of the holiday hotspot
Credit: Getty
Marbella, often described as the "jewel in the crown" of the Spanish coast, has scooped up around 2,500 tonnes of algae sludge over the busy Easter period.
Officials clear the beaches each day with heavy machinery, only for another thick layer to wash up.
As the brown mush decays, it "generates bad odours and prevent bathing" - spoiling the beaches for tourists.
The local council is furious, fuming that the situation is totally unacceptable.
It said this year's Easter haul is more than the amount collected in the whole of 2024.
Local councillor Diego Lopez said: "This figure that should set off all the alarms. What we are experiencing this year is unprecedented. It's an environmental emergency.
"We cannot allow our beaches to lose their attractiveness because that has a direct impact on our economy."
The worst of the mess washed up on beaches such as San Pedro Alcántara, Nueva Andalucía, Fontanilla, Venus, El Cable and Cabopino.
But Marbella is not alone in this problem.
Lopez insisted: "This situation affects the entire Andalusian coast and requires a coordinated response."
Inside the Hard Rock Hotel Marbella
The algae, called "Rugulopteryx okamurae", a dirty brown seaweed, is hated by holiday resorts because it ruins beaches with smelly piles of muck.
It accumulates in huge, ugly piles on the shoreline and stops holidaymakers from enjoying the sand.
Tourists have described it as "disgusting and smelly", often being forced to jump over piles of the stuff to reach the sea.
Marbella council says it cannot battle the problem alone, and is calling for reinforcement from the Spanish government.
Lopez slammed the "absolute lack of support from the central government [...] in the face of an environmental emergency that overflows municipal resources".
The invasion is so bad that Marbella has introduced a daily cleaning programme.
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Local councillors fear the algae invasion will threaten Marbella's tourism industry
Credit: Getty
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Authorities removed more algae from Marbella's beaches in the Easter period than the whole of 2024
Credit: Getty
Around 20 tractors armed with large bucket scrapers zigzag the beaches from 3am to 10am, when they must leave for safety reasons.
Lopez said: "The work is organised at dawn to minimise the inconvenience to users."
He also commended the army of cleaners, who he said are all "giving 200 percent to face this situation".
Once removed, the algae is laid out to dry so it is less heavy and easier to transport.
The leftover mess is then transferred to the Costa del Sol Environmental Complex in Malaga.
The council pays a fee of €43 per ton for its treatment as vegetable waste, which "makes management even more expensive".
Lopez said the huge effort the council expends to keep the beaches clean proves its commitment to "environmental quality and to the tourist image of the municipality".