Sustainable cleaning consists of limiting the use of mechanical equipment on beaches to collect waste. For that, the seaside resorts of Destination Royan Atlantique have adapted the cleaning interventions. Thus, depending on the period, they preserve this natural environment teeming with life.
A territory committed to a sustainable approach
The beaches are spaces for leisure, relaxation and places of activity. They are also a gateway to the sea. They are also fragile environments housing a remarkable biodiversity. For the sake of offering a “clean” beach to visitors, mechanical cleaning on our coastline has been widely practiced. However, the machines indiscriminately collect the sea lines with the waste and, sometimes, large quantities of sand. This practice has negative consequences on the environment: loss of biodiversity, acceleration of erosion, etc. In addition, this method of cleaning makes it difficult to process waste.
This is why in winter, the manual cleaning is privileged. It thus allows maintain sea lines on the beaches. Selectively cleaning the beaches, by only collecting waste from human activities, helps protect these sea lines.
To remain “alive” over the long term, the beach needs the sea line.
We call the sea line the natural debris torn from the high seabed (algae, sea grass, driftwood, small crustaceans, etc.) and deposited on the beaches when the sea recedes. These natural deposits contribute to the balance of beaches and are useful for our coastal ecosystems. These are not waste!
How important is the sea line?
The sea line is an ecosystem necessary for coastal life. She permits :
- for birds to nest (they come and lay their eggs there) and to protect themselves (refuge)
- to find food (animal remains or “sea fleas”). If the sea line is not preserved, certain species will disappear
- to fight against erosion (by establishing itself, the vegetation will retain the sand). In fact, decomposing organic matter enriches the soil, thus promoting the development of plants (such as oyat).
Preserving beaches with tide tanks
During storms, human waste (plastics, cigarette butts, fishing nets, etc.) often mixes with these natural elements and pollutes them. So that everyone can contribute to preserving the environment by collecting waste washed up on our beaches, seaside resorts have equipped themselves with “tide bins”. These collectors specially dedicated to waste washed up on beaches by high tides, allow walkers to make a citizen gesture, by collecting this waste carried by the sea. To find out which beaches at Destination Royan Atlantique have tide pools, consult the map: bacamaree.fr
Sustainable cleaning: Zero cigarette butts on our beaches
In order to preserve nature, we must curb the pollution of our beaches and our ocean. Our Tourist Information Offices make available to the public beach ashtrays. Indeed, despite its small size, the butt is an environmental disaster. A single cigarette butt alone pollutes 500 liters of water and takes up to 12 years to disappear! Since 2021, the Community Tourist Office has gone further in its sustainable development approach. It offers beach ashtrays made with recycled plastic and oyster shell powder. Everyone can contribute to a clean beach!
