I was pleased to notice a couple of years ago that re-cycling had reached Almerimar, when I saw the multi-coloured bins appearing (blue for paper, green for glass, and yellow for plastics, cans and cartons). I even bought some yellow trash bags from the Mercadona and started rinsing out all my milk cartons, yoghurt pots etc. I then seemed to lose enthusiasm and after a few months just stopped, comforting myself with the fact that my ‘carbon footprint’ these days is so small.

I’m aware that re-cycling is effectively compulsory now in the UK, but Spain seems much less a ‘nanny’ state, and the problem is, it is just so hard. By this I don’t mean the rinsing etc. I mean the collecting and more importantly the stortage. Where in my apartment am I supposed to put 4 separate bin bags whilst they fill up? One solution could be a rather expensive but interesting peddle bin I saw in Copo the other week, which had space for 2 separate liners for different ‘types’ of litter, maybe another sign that the Spanish are getting more into re-cycling, although strangely the Mercadona have only ever stocked the yellow bin bags and not the green and blue ones.

Anyway I am planning to start trying harder again, as we have a very large chrome bin from the UK which would be perfect for paper litter, at least a start, and as we don’t drink much at home, I’m sure I can cope with re-cycling our bottles, which just leave the yellow and grey stuff maybe for one of those trendy duel bins from Copo.

Now to those dreaded plastic bags which we are all been encouraged in the UK press to give up! I read this week that from May 6th “Marks and Spencer is hoping to spark a high-street revolution by charging food customers 5p for every plastic carrier bag they use”, following successful trials of this policy in the SW which saw a 70% fall in demand. They are working with a partner charity Groundwork, and will be investing the money saved in much-needed green spaces across the country. Good old M&S trying to make a dent in the roughly “13 billion plastic bags given out free to UK shoppers every year, which take 1,000 years to decay.” To read more about this initiative check out the article below:

Marks and Spencer to charge for plastic bags

I actually agree that we all use too many plastic bags, and that in addition there is way too much packaging on just about everything we buy, even down to fruit and vegetables coming pre-packed in plastic. However I do try to re-use most of my plastic bags for rubbish, so if I managed to refuse them totally at the supermarket, I would have to buy bin-bags instead which are also plastic, albeit ideally in appropriate yellow, green and blue!

SO the answer seems to be to try a little harder to do my bit without making life too tough. To that end I’m planning to order myself some pretty cool ’shopper’ bags for pick-up when I go back to the UK in early May. I read about them around Xmas, and resisted the temptation to buy them for everyone as presents. They are sold by the ’social change’ movement We Are What We Do (WAWWD), and at only £5 are much cheaper than some of the ‘trendier’ more designer versions that I have read about. Basically they are a simple, sturdy shopper with ‘Plastic Ain’t My Bag’ written on them in chunky letters.

That just leaves me with the problem of how many of said shoppers I would need for a decent food shop, AND how many I could carry at once up the hill from the Mercadona, as naturally I should give up driving down to the port in my gas-guzzling Cherokee Jeep! Ooh and I still haven’t worked out how to dispose of my rubbish without some form of plastic bag! Being greener does seem a tough one.

To find out more about the WAWWD shoppers which actually do look fun and come in a number of bright colours, please click on the article below:

How green is your bag?

About Almerimar

Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar

Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.