More and more people are becoming aware of the abandonment of garbage (garbage in nature) and it is already a concern among society. For this reason, the Libera Project, by SEO/BirdLife in alliance with Ecoembes, has received 118 notices of black spots since 2021, when it launched the awareness campaign about these accumulations of garbage. Black spots are those illegal discharges that, due to their type or size, require professional action.
In 2023, the total number of reports that Libera has received has been 34, of which seven have already been successfully managed by the competent administrations. The reports have been distributed in three autonomous communities, with Andalusia being where the most reports have been issued, with a total of five. These reported black spots have had a lot of waste in common, highlighting to a significant extent debris, as well as plastics and household furniture.
Libera makes a website available to everyone to make all reports on black spots that citizens find in natural environments. By filling out just a short questionnaire, the notice is registered and Libera begins its management. You only need the coordinates of the place where you are located and the natural space to be able to make a quick location. This website also explains what a black point is to have a clear example. It also has a map with the locations where a black spot has been reported. In it, you can see those that have already been managed and those that still have to be resolved. Through the project, Libera aims to eliminate all those areas where large amounts of waste are deposited and, to do so, requires citizen collaboration.
Through the reports on this website, many of the black spots reported have plastic waste as their main waste. Furthermore, due to their light weight, these are carried by rain, wind or overflowing rivers and streams to many different points. Also, it is worth highlighting the presence of household furniture abandoned in nature, waste whose impact is increased by the visual shock caused by its large size. Thanks to citizen collaboration, the collection of this garbage has been managed and has resulted in the solution of serious attacks on the natural environment.
Following the line of garbage deposited in black spots and according to the quantitative research part, coastal areas are a critical point. In addition to the waste that is difficult to collect, these are joined by cigarette butts and plastics that are dragged to that point. An example of this is the notices that Libera has received this year regarding black spots, where five of the seven resolved reports have been in the coastal areas of Granada.
In contrast to resolved notices, a problem faced by both Libera and the person giving the notice is the bureaucratic complexity of the system as there is no immediate withdrawal by the corresponding administration. Of the 34 notices presented this year, 27 take more than three months to be attended to, either because Libera does not receive a response or because it is communicated that they delegate it to the competent administration, but it is not cleaned.
"One of the main problems of environmental crimes is the feeling of impunity of the offender. These acts are committed in the solitude of the mountains where there are rarely eyes watching over us. Libera provides 30,000 pairs of vigilant eyes to put an end to this impunity We encourage administrations to take measures as soon as they become aware of a spill. We know how expensive and complicated it is, but it has been proven that garbage calls for garbage. If we do not remove it in time where we had a small problem, we will have one. bigger if we don't act as soon as possible," says Miguel Muñoz, coordinator of the LIBERA Project at SEO/BirdLife.
“The number of black spots reported underlines the attention to the demand to act against garbage. Each notification on our website is a call to action for everyone; At the same time, it is a reminder for administrations: speed in response is essential to avoid environmental impunity. Let us unite as citizens and authorities, being active vigilantes to preserve the essence of our natural environments”, Sara Güemes, coordinator of the Libera Project at Ecoembes.
More Than Research's research for Libera has studied the behavior of the Spanish population in relation to garbage and future expectations. The various professionals interviewed agree that, currently, the problems are named and people who are responsible for promoting sustainability in the work environment are identified.
Regarding the population interviewed, more than 70% of Spaniards personally consider themselves very aware of environmental issues. Furthermore, a significant increase in optimism is observed among Spaniards, since the percentage of those who think that garbage in nature will decrease significantly in the next 10 years in our country increases. On the other hand, almost 18% of those interviewed believe that companies are not at all aware of the care of nature, in contrast to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda that many companies are taking.
