Cancún’s Mega Beach Cleanup: Join the Effort June 28

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Cancún Mayor Ana Patricia Peralta has announced a large-scale beach cleanup initiative scheduled for Saturday, June 28, involving municipal authorities, hotel operators, civil organizations, and the general public. The announcement was made during a meeting with the Cancún, Puerto Morelos, and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association.

Coordinated Effort Against Sargassum

Peralta emphasized the need for a unified approach to managing sargassum, an invasive seaweed that has plagued the region’s coastlines. “We must all work together—hotels, government, and citizens—to clean the beaches efficiently, especially when sargassum arrives in large quantities,” she stated.

Additional measures include training programs for tourism sector employees on environmentally compliant seaweed removal techniques. Participants will also be required to maintain logs to improve monitoring and optimize the use of machinery and personnel.

Daily Operations and Progress

Antonio de la Torre Chambé, Director of Public Services, reported that daily cleanup efforts begin at 5:30 a.m. across seven public beaches. Tasks include sweeping, raking, sand sifting, sargassum collection, and trash removal, alongside restroom maintenance.

From October 2024 to the present, municipal crews have collected over 3,326.97 tons of sargassum. The operation involves 290 workers, 25 vehicles (including tractors, excavators, sweepers, and dump trucks), and 181 hand tools such as wheelbarrows, rakes, and pitchforks.

State-Level Coordination

Oscar Rébora Aguilera, Quintana Roo’s Secretary of Ecology and Environment, noted that while Benito Juárez (Cancún’s municipality) is not expected to face the heaviest sargassum influx in the coming months, shifting ocean currents could change the situation. He stressed the importance of continued collaboration between government agencies and private stakeholders to maintain clean beaches.