Last Updated
The beaches of Cancun haven’t been the cleanest this year, mostly due to sargassum but also because of the huge number of people on them every day, but soon tourists will enjoy cleaner beaches after a massive cleanup effort scheduled for this weekend takes place. Two local parks are enlisting the help of a large number of volunteers to work in conjunction with them to prepare the beaches for the next round of foreign visitors, and for the locals who like to enjoy the beach during the summer months too. The cleanup will take place this Saturday, May 28 in an area of the Hotel Zone and will begin in the morning and continue throughout the day.
While much of the reason for the cleanup is to keep Cancun’s much-loved beaches beautiful, the organizers also hope to bring more awareness to the people in regards to the impact garbage on the beaches has on the environment. Volunteers will be cleaning up sargassum as well, but much of the focus will be on garbage that has the potential to interfere with the ecosystems of the area.
Organizers of the beach cleaning point out that the oceans are important because they supply 50 percent of the oxygen that humans breathe. They also point out that the oceans help absorb more than a quarter of carbon dioxide that would be emitted into the atmosphere. So, in addition to helping to keep the garbage and sargassum off of the beaches, the organizers of the cleanup are helping locals understand the importance of keeping the beaches clean for the future.
Over the last few months, the city has been employing workers to clean up the massive amounts of sargassum on the beaches. Sargassum is a brown seaweed that comes from the Atlantic Ocean and has been much more present over the last decade, particularly in the last couple of years. Sargassum is not dangerous to visitors but it is annoying and the smell it emits when decomposing is not the most pleasant thing to endure when trying to enjoy Cancun’s otherwise breathtaking beaches.
A task force was recently developed to help with keeping the sargassum away from the coast and with removing it once it has arrived. The group is made up of local officials, researchers, academics, and scientists. It is their hope that in the future sargassum will be much less of a problem.
Garbage on the beach is also an issue, and the even bigger focus of the businesses that have organized this weekend’s cleanup, which include Ventura Park and Dolphinaris. The cleanup, which is focused in the Playa Coral area of the Cancun Hotel Zone, is an effort to remove as much of this garbage as possible, which will result in more beautiful beaches and healthier ecosystems.
The huge number of tourists that visit Cancun every year leave their mark on the beaches in the form of garbage that does not make it to the trash cans and this year there has been a lot of them. Spring break and the Easter holiday brought in millions of tourists that were eager to go on vacations after going so long without during the Covid-19 pandemic. All indications point to the summer months being just as busy, which is why it is important to clean up what is there now before the beach is packed with the next round of visitors.
The popularity of Cancun has grown significantly in recent years and will continue to do so as the city takes steps to keep it even safer, more functional, and cleaner. Keeping garbage and sargassum off of the beaches is another step for the city in the right direction.
Plan Your Next Cancun Vacation:
Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!
Choose From Thousands of Cancun and Riviera Maya Hotels, Resorts and Hostels with Free Cancellation On Most Properties
↓ Join the community ↓
The Cancun Sun Community FB group has all the latest travel news, conversations and tourism Q&A’s for the Mexican Caribbean
Subscribe to our Latest Posts
Enter your email address to subscribe to The Cancun Sun’s latest breaking news affecting travelers, straight to your inbox.