Advice

Zoning combined with mechanical cleaning tourist zone

The municipality is already doing a good job right now, not using mechanical cleaning. However, there are plans in the future to implement this. To provide other options we will give you this advice.

A little improvement could be in the way the beach is mechanically cleaned. Sifting is more damaging to the environment than for example raking. When sifting lots of meiofauna is also taken out of the soil, which does not happen when raking is implemented. A disadvantage of raking is that smaller waste, like cigarette butts, is also not taken up by the machine. Another option could be using wider sifts, so the smaller meiofauna remains in the sand. However again smaller waste, like plastic shards and cigarette butts will also stay behind.

Some parts of your beach are currently unused by visitors and therefore make it ideal for nature zoning. Zone these parts off, to create a safe haven for wildlife, where they can rest from the busy parts of the beaches. The wrack that washes ashore at the busy parts could be moved towards these zones, leaving the nutrients at the beach and not removing them from the system entirely. This way only the tourist zones have to be cleaned mechanically.