Tulum Beach Cleanup Pulls 32 Kilos of Marine Debris From Playa del Pueblo

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Municipal crews and volunteers removed 32 kilograms of marine debris from Playa del Pueblo during a beach cleanup organized to mark International Coastal Cleanup Day, Tulum officials said.

The cleanup was led by the municipal government through its Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone Directorate, known as ZOFEMAT, and logged its findings on the international Ocean Conservancy platform. Participants included ZOFEMAT staff, private companies, community groups, volunteers and representatives of the local business sector, who worked on both waste collection and environmental awareness.

Plastic, Glass and Household Waste

The debris collected included PET bottles, glass, HDPE, rubber, styrofoam, aluminum, synthetic fiber, bottle caps and other plastics. Organizers also recorded 300 grams of macroplastics and 200 grams of microplastics.

Alongside everyday household items such as shoes, toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, workers found several potentially dangerous objects: bottle caps, glass shards, three syringes, five disposable lighters and two aerosol cans.

ZOFEMAT Tulum Director General David Buchanan said the effort included sifting sand to detect waste that is not always visible, as well as surveys to locate larger debris and identify the types of marine trash reaching the municipality’s beaches.

Buchanan said keeping beaches clean depends on everyone, and he urged residents and visitors to carry out their own waste and place it in the designated containers.

He noted that the beaches are equipped with trash stations and asked beachgoers to use them properly to help protect Tulum’s coastal ecosystems.