Barcelona reuses sand from construction works to refill beaches

Mayor says measure saves on costs but is not sufficient alone

An excavator flattening sand on the San Sebastià beach in Barcelona
An excavator flattening sand on the San Sebastià beach in Barcelona / Norma Vidal
Catalan News

Catalan News | @catalannews | Barcelona

January 26, 2025 11:21 AM

January 26, 2025 11:21 AM

Barcelona is using sand from two construction works being carried out in the city to refill the beaches of Sant Sebastià, Mar Bella, and Llevant.

Mayor Jaume Collboni explained the initiative during a visit to one of the beaches this week and highlighted that it is "kilometer 0 sand" that was once part of the Barcelona coastline, "500 or 1,500 years ago."

The Socialist council leader assured that the material has passed all relevant tests and checks, and is of high quality.

The mayor pointed out the environmental benefits the project has, given that it is sand that does not need to be otherwise disposed of and doesn't need to travel far to reach the beaches, although he admitted that the measure alone will not be "sufficient."

Collboni said that he is confident that the Catalan capital's beaches will receive additional new sand from the state in the coming months.

The initiative is part of the city council's Climate Plan and will bring 48,000 cubic meters of to the three beaches.

 

The majority, 40,000 cubic meters, will come from the works being done to build the foundations of the Ciutadella del Coneixement facility in the Ciutadella park. The remaining 8,000 cubic meters will come from drilling being made in Bogatell to expand the heating and cooling distribution network.

The mayor visited Sant Sebastià beach on Wednesday where parts of the sand deliveries had already begun.

The also explained that the deposits are being made in the low season to minimize the impact on citizens.

Contributions from the ministry

Adding new sand to the beaches of Barcelona is a necessary process as the coastline loses sand naturally through the tides and storms.

The measure aims to expand the coastal strip and strengthen it against the onslaught of storms during the rest of the winter and spring.

An excavator flattening sand on the San Sebastià beach in Barcelona on a weekday in January
An excavator flattening sand on the San Sebastià beach in Barcelona on a weekday in January / Norma Vidal

However, this project and others promoted by the city council in recent times are not sufficient in scale to regenerate the sand on Barcelona's beaches. In this sense, he said that in the coming months the local government "will explain the specifics of the contributions that the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition will have to make to contribute to the maintenance of the city's coastline."

The last major arrival of sand carried out by the Spanish government on the Barcelona coastline took place in 2010.

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