THE night of San Juan is celebrated by Spaniards around the country, but once the party is over, everyone else must pick up the pieces.
Indeed, in disgraceful scenes tons of rubbish has been left – yet again – on the country’s famous costas.
Whether in Barcelona, Valencia or Malaga, hundreds of tons of rubbish are left strewn across beaches.
Millions of beer cans, bottles of wine and empty bags of crisps were pictured being blown around the country’s shoreline this morning.
Many end up in the sea, where they are often wrongly mistaken for food by fish and dolphins.
Indeed, environmentalists are concerned that the huge amounts of trash left at the beaches represent a ‘critical’ danger to nature and marine ecosystems.
It all came from one night of intense celebration where the majority of families head to the beach with a picnic, booze and, often, sound systems.
Most resorts set off fireworks at midnight, while traditionally people jump into the sea and over bonfires.
In Valencia, where San Juan is cherished, a shocking 58 tons of rubbish were removed from the beaches.
While on the Costa del Sol from Malaga to Nerja, glass, paper and other residues were picked up from dawn – and expected to at least match 20.800 kilograms of rubbish were collected last year.
Cadiz’s only central beach, La Caleta, has produced more than 500 bags of rubbish this year, which is disheartening for a 450-metre beach.
In Barcelona, some 62 tons of rubbish are usually left, which is ten times a normal summer day.
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