Costa Tropcal info

As you can see in the picture in the top right corner of this page the plastics are taking over Southern Spain.

Since the late 1970s more and more of these things have been springing up across the south coast of Spain no more so than in the Costa Tropical. Almeria is the worst area as, at the moment it has the largest area of plastic on the planet, and is the largest man made construction visable from outer space. To see a photo from space go here.

These Greenhouses (Plastics) or inveraderos as they are called here are used to grow vegetables for the european market.

To build these plastics large mountains are reduced to dust and leveled by huge earth moving machines destroying the landscape as they go. Around 75% of these constructions are errected with no planning permission, yet everybody seems to turn a blind eye. Other problems associated with this type of construction is the waste i.e. The plastic used to build the greenhouses has a lifespan of 1 to 3 years depending on the grade used. At the end of the life of the plastic it should be sent to a recycling plant (there is one nearby) but the cost of transportation, makes it more appealing for the growers to burn the waste plastic along with the dead plants at the end of the season. Toxic smoke from different fires can be seen for miles at the end of the season. The dumping of vegetables that do not quite make the grade is also a problem, feeding the flies and vermin that infest the countryside between the greenhouses.