Divers remove wet wipes from seabed off Costa Brava beach

Around 30 volunteer divers took part in a seabed clean-up operation on Sunday morning targeting wet wipes off the beach at Sant Feliu de Guíxols on the Costa Brava.

The initiative, organised by the diving centre Sublimits, forms part of a campaign to raise awareness of the environmental impact of wet wipes, a waste product that is difficult to recycle.

Divers focused on an area particularly affected by the problem. Although filtration systems are in place, a stream empties into the sea nearby, while marine currents cause debris to accumulate close to the shoreline.

"There is a carpet of wet wipes here," says Lola Cervantes, director of the diving centre.

Last year, volunteers removed 300 kilograms of wet wipes during the same campaign, a figure organisers hope to match this year.

"It is far removed from what people think the Costa Brava is like," says volunteer diver Víctor Almohalla.

"All the bathroom wipes we use to clean ourselves, to clean babies and so on, even if we're told they're biodegradable, take a very long time to break down," he adds.

"This means we can't have a truly healthy seabed," says Lola Cervantes, explaining that other efforts to restore the marine environment are of little use if wet wipes are not addressed first.

"No matter how many projects we undertake to replant posidonia seagrass, if we don't start by tackling wet wipes, we won't get anywhere."