RECYCLED building rubble has been used to restore a Costa del Sol beach that vanished through coastal erosion in the 1970s.
Hundreds of residents have been protesting repeatedly on the Mezquitilla beach in Vélez-Málaga (pictured) for years, calling for the shoreline to be rebuilt.
Their campaign was called 'Project Brick Beach' and they were urging authorities to use construction site waste – which would otherwise be dumped in landfill and take centuries to break down, or which end up dumped in the countryside by fly-tippers – to be used for the regeneration.
Now an EU-backed plan, Project Brick Beach will work as a form of 'reverse coastal erosion' – rebuilding the shore gradually, like the destruction process on rewind.
Málaga University, the Andalucía regional government's environmental department, Vélez-Málaga town council, and its 'Sea Classroom' (Aula del Mar) have joined forces in what is described as a 'pilot scheme' on a continental level – if it works, it may be used elsewhere in Europe.
Rubble used to rebuild the Mezquitilla beach will mostly be brick and ceramic, and will be painstakingly treated in a specialist plant to ensure that when they are broken down and crushed to powder, their constitution will be as close as possible to that of natural sand.
The Aula del Mar has assured that no toxic or polluting material will creep into the mix.
A submerged artificial reef will also be created to act as a wave break, preventing future erosion.
The project will have taken a total of three years to complete, meaning it should be finished by July 2021.
All that is needed now is for the recycling plant to be approved and the job to be put out to tender.
A total of 750 metres of beach will be restored, stretching from the last of the houses on the immediate seafront to the Punta de las Ballenas, which acts as a natural containing pier.
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