The association Custodia del Territorio Papacría de Lanzarote has publicly denounced the lack of preventive measures against waste in the popular festivals of the different municipalities of the island.
According to a statement, since 2022 they have presented and registered with several town councils "a set of proposals" prepared by young people from the island “that are systematically ignored on each occasion”.
In this sense, it has pointed out that the actions arising during the realization of the educational project Basuraleza. The footprint of ignorance aim to address in a preventive way "the great problem of waste dumping in mass celebrations and offer concrete solutions based on environmental education, awareness and active participation of the community".
“These proposals were formulated by young students from the island, who know this reality firsthand and have provided concrete answers to reduce waste and raise awareness among citizens", he added.
"Ignoring their contributions is perpetuating a model that spends thousands of euros on cleaning, instead of investing them in education and prevention”, added Papacría.
Absence of prevention and environmental education
In his opinion, and despite this, the situation has not improved. “The request for subsidies charged to the festivities budget for the prevention of these uncivil behaviors have been referred to other departments, disconnecting the celebration of events with their consequences of waste generation".
To which he added, “this is a policy that ignores the root of the problem: the absence of prevention and environmental education, which could prevent the same images of abandoned garbage in streets, beaches and protected natural areas from being repeated year after year”, they argued.
As an example, during the recent mass festivities in different municipalities, residents and visitors denounced garbage dumps in public and natural spaces, as well as uncontrolled parking in protected areas, which shows that the problem persists and worsens.
Proposes to welcome the ideas of young students
Papacría proposes that the experience and creativity of young students, collected in the Basuraleza project, contribute to municipal policies: “Their voice must be heard and their proposals implemented because they are the ones who provide concrete and feasible ideas to prevent pollution, instead of reacting after the damage has already occurred”.
The association has reiterated its commitment to environmental education and the sustainable management of events, and calls on municipal authorities to include specific items for preventive actions in the budgets allocated to festivities to reduce waste generation and promote community participation, especially of young people, "who are agents of change and environmental awareness".
