Urinating in the sea can lead to a fine, even though chemists insist that a little urea is insignificant in the volume of the sea.
The Costa del Sol is preparing to welcome a record number of visitors this summer, so it is taking preventive measures against one of the least talked about side effects of the excessive tourism: he released pee anywhere.
Inspired by the city of Vigoin northern Spain, which two years ago introduced fines of up to 750 euros for “physiological evacuation on the beach or sea”, Marbella does the same, more than doubling its own fine (before 300 euros) to equal that of Vigo.
A race for the most expensive urination in Spain
Last week, Marbella councilors voted “yes” to sea protection. They approved an ordinance that prohibits urinating underwater on 25 beaches in the municipality of Malaga.
There is a whole varied genre about it. It’s not just underwater urination; is also prohibited urinating in public on landthe “yellow water” that he sang is not welcome Pablo Carbonell with the ‘Dead Bullfighters’, but that is easier to monitor. What is not yet known is how the lifeguards, or the security guards in charge, will identify vacationers who secretly urinate under the waves.
You can’t piss in the sea, but you can smoke in the sand.
“Physiological evacuation” is not the only prohibition mentioned in the new ordinance, which must still undergo public consultation before becoming law.
Bathers will no longer be able to play with balls in the water nor reserve an area with an umbrella. There are also new rules for keep dogs out of water and restrict them only to beaches marked off especially for them. Smokers can continue smoking for now, but there are fines for throwing away cigarette butts or food scraps.
Other Spanish beaches that demand responsibilities from tourists
Vigo, in the region of Galiciain northern Spain, imposes a fine of 750 euros for pee by the sea from 2022, considering it “a infraction of hygienic-sanitary standards”.
You visit Benidormyou could receive a fine of 660 euros for using soap or shampoo in the beach showers. Fate also fines smokers with 2.000 euros and to night owls: venturing onto the sand between midnight and 7 a.m. can cost you 1.200 euros. It is also forbidden smoking on several beaches Barcelona, Mallorca, Ibiza y Minorca.
But what’s wrong with pissing in the sea?
Anyone with a “sustainable mindset” may already follow “home only” domestic urination policies such as “if it’s yellow, let it ripen,” i.e., don’t flush the toilet to save water. Are you sure that an underwater “physiological evacuation” is just as ecological? Surprisingly, no.
Despite containing 95% water, urine is toxic for ocean fauna, can contribute to the destruction of biodiversity and is especially harmful to losCoral reefs. That other 5% contains everything from urea (rich in nitrogen), bacteria and waste medicines.
But the scientists of the American Chemical Society have rejected this idea: “Our mission is to let them know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting you in the ocean,” since “the amount of urea contained in our urine is negligible compared to the volume of the sea.”
