Yesterday saw the volunteers from Econciencia zapping Playa Puerta del Mar in Almuñécar for fag butts... I'll clarify that with, 'cigarette ends' for alarmed American readers.

The volunteers set up a small sideless tent on the said beach as an info point on the problem caused by people leaving their expended cigarettes on beaches from a contamination as well as aesthetic point of view.

The organisation is called Econscience (Eawareness) because it aims to make people more aware of the damage they are doing by littering beaches with these discarded cigarette filters, amongst other litter.

Anyway, whilst you and I were at our respective homes scratching our unmentionables in front of a TV or gas BBQ, these stalwarts were out crusading against the pervasive and invasive nicotine nuisance.

This whole clean-up, which unfolded between 10.30h and 20.00h, was a collaborative operation between the Town Hall, Amigos del Mar and the company, Prominca.

“We set up handicraft workshops for kiddies who pass by the tent, where they could turn litter into marine life,” explained the Secretary of Amigos del Mar.

The next clean up will be on Playa Velilla (between Chiringuito Mariano and Chiringuito Tropical) on the 21st of August.

The campaign this year kicked off on La Herradura beach, which went well but the one programmed for Playa de San Cristóbal had to be cancelled because of the strong wind and running surf.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)