Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The city’s environmental agency acknowledged that some hotels are still using heavy machinery on beaches to collect sargassum, a practice experts say worsens coastal erosion. However, officials announced no fines or penalties against those responsible.
Kandy Mendoza, head of the Playa del Carmen Environment Department, confirmed the use of backhoes and other heavy equipment by private hotels during an interview about the massive sargassum influx currently affecting the municipality’s coastline.
Mendoza said the municipal government tries to minimize machinery use on the beach during cleanup operations and that official crews only use essential equipment. But when asked about recent social media images showing heavy machinery working near the waterline, she acknowledged that many of those machines belong to private hotels.
“We have seen images appearing from certain hotels. However, we have approached them, we have used mediation as the Environment Department so that our friends the hoteliers or business owners help us by not bringing in machinery,” Mendoza said.
The response has drawn criticism because the agency admits the problem exists but its only action so far has been voluntary appeals to business owners.
The issue is particularly concerning as residents and tourism service providers have warned of visible sand loss in recent months, especially in Playa del Carmen’s central area.
During the same interview, Mendoza acknowledged that sargassum collection inevitably removes sand along with the algae. “When collecting the sargassum, it takes this part of the sand with it,” she said. Although she explained that sand is later separated at disposal sites, environmentalists say heavy machinery use without strict technical controls accelerates beach erosion.
The problem comes during what authorities describe as an atypical season due to extraordinary sargassum volumes arriving on the Mexican Caribbean coast. Municipal crews work daily from Punta Esmeralda to Playa Caribe to remove the algae and keep the busiest tourist areas operational, but ocean currents continue to bring massive amounts of seaweed ashore.
The admission that hotels are still using heavy machinery on the beach has opened a new debate about oversight of coastal activities and enforcement of environmental protection measures. The department has not specified how many hotels have been detected using such equipment, whether any inspections are underway, or whether repeat offenders could face penalties.
Images of machinery operating on erosion-affected beaches continue to worry citizens and specialists, who warn that some actions taken to combat sargassum may be simultaneously accelerating the loss of one of the destination’s most valuable natural resources.
