Costa Blanca To Have Spain’s First Sustainable Beach Bar

COSTA BLANCA is set to have Spain’s first ever sustainable beach bar

When the current contract for the beach bars, or chiringuitos, runs out in 2024, Gandia on Spain’s Costa Blanca will become the first city in the Valencian Community, if not all of Spain, to operate fully sustainable establishments. To explore the ways in which the chiringuitos can be made as environmentally friendly as possibility, the local government has enlisted the help of the Territorial College of Architects of Valencia, who have launched an ideas contest aimed at young professionals to come up with the design and characteristics for the new beach bars. The winner will be announced at the beginning of May and receive €3,000 in prize money; second and third places will receive €1,500.

The architects are forbidden from using polluting elements in their design, but must include such environmentally friendly techniques such as wind turbines or solar panels for energy, cooling through an evaporations system rather than air conditioning and ideas to reduce energy consumption. They are also encouraged to use recycled material that can be locally sourced.

The councillors for Tourism and the Environment of Gandia, Vicent Mascarell and Alicia Izquierdo, announced on March 31 that the chiringuitos would be eliminating the use of single use plastics also, and only using recyclable glasses, plates and cutlery.

“We want to place Gandia beach as an avant-garde space,” Alicia Izquierdo said.

“I am convinced that the tourism of the future will be sustainable or will be,” Vicent Mascarell added. He also said that where there are now ten beach bars, the number will be increased to twelve in order to provide the best possible customer experience on what is considered to be one of the best beaches in Spain. In addition, the new chiringuitos will be bigger, with 150 square metres under cover and 50 square metres of terrace space.

Source: Levante