Taking sand as a vacation souvenir
Due to this, many destinations around the world are taking action by banning the practice of stealing sand and backing this up with stiff fines for those who do so. Moreover, in some cases, there is even the threat of prison time.
While some people believe that beaches are the result of naturally replenishing sand, this is not the case. In fact, some popular beaches have been engineered to look the way they do. For instance, Blue Flag beaches on the Costa del Sol in Spain are constantly sending industrial tractors to move the sand around and make the beach look perfect, especially after a storm has moved it around.
According to a report, California may lose up to 75 percent of its sand to sea level rise and erosion by the year 2100. This only makes it sense to stop people from stealing sand as a souvenir while making it illegal.
Unique beaches that tempt people to steal
Frommers reports that by some estimates, as much as 22 pounds a year are stolen from this tiny piece of coastline. Moreover, officials of its sister island, Lanzarote say the theft is even worse, with as much as a ton of natural material going missing due to theft and erosion each year.
Tough fines for stealing from beaches
Meanwhile, Sardinia in Italy is also facing tourists stealing the island’s beautiful white sand. According to a report, in one case tourists were nabbed with the stolen sand hundreds of miles away. The tourists were caught by routine luggage inspections in France for transporting bottles filled with Sardinia sand. Now, European officers are charging fines of €3,000 (US$3,200) along with six years in prison for the theft.
Basically, travelers should be aware of the crime of stealing sand from the beaches – just don’t do it. Rather look for legal souvenirs to take home for the memories, preferably from a local craft market and not with a tag reading “Made in China.”
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