Mallorca cleans up waters as buyers flood in

Mallorca is cleaning up its waters, as part of a new drive to improve the area's environment and quality of life.

The latest measure involves an innovative new "Seabin", which was introduced as part of the 2015 European Week for Waste Reduction. The week, which ended on 29th November, had a record year, with more than 12,000 actions carried out in 33 different countries to make Europe a cleaner place.

The Mallorca Environmental Department encouraged residents to think more sustainably about their actions. This ranged from taking cloth bags shopping to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags, to buying gifts for people that didn't involve the use of materials, more practical gifts such as dinner at a local restaurant or theatre tickets.

Two local entrepreneurs, though, are ahead of the current, with their new invention - the "Seabin" - now approved to be trialled in Mallorca's marins in 2016.

Essentially, the Seabin is an automated rubbish bin that captures any rubbish floating on the surface of the water. It is capable of picking up anything from discarded plastic bags and coffee cups to oil and detergents. So far, marinas from Belgium, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, France, UK, Ireland, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Arab Emirates and Brazil have expressed interest in the product. Mallorca, though, is paving the watery way.

Mallorca certainly has good cause to protect its natural environment. As well as having a social and moral responsibility to do so, the positive impact to the island's tourism of maintaining pristine waters should not be underestimated. Mallorca has been a popular mass tourism destination since the 1950s, as Taylor Wimpey España's Marc Pritchard observes: "Mallorca has that signature combination of sun, sea and sand that makes it the ideal holiday destination. For decades visitors have been flocking to the island's shores, many of them choosing to return repeatedly or even, like me, stay for good."

Indeed, buyers are flooding into Mallorca, according to new figures from Engel & Volkers, who experienced a "record" year with real estate deals totalling €300 million - 25 per cent up on 2014.