From Guest Blogger Molly Connell: Our Beaches Are Disappearing – Sand Scarcity

Now that summer’s here we all like to enjoy the beach. But this might be soon a thing of the past: at the rate we currently extract sand, we run the serious risk that the beaches will disappear by the end of this century. The main reason for this excessive extractions is the construction industry.

One of the main reasons why the construction industry has created a sand crisis is the continuously growing population and the increasing urbanization rate. Every mile of road and every building requires an astonishing amount of sand, even an average family house requires 200 tonnes of sand. (Ejolt.org) Another crucial fact to understand the phenomenon is, that only marine sand is adequate for construction. Concrete has become a very popular building material because it is cheap and easy to form but desert sand with its round form doesn’t stick with cement which so it can’t be used for concrete. (TheVerge.com)

Not only is the sand market overexploiting our natural sand resources but there is also a black market for sand, which is mining sand at all costs. The sand mafia has stolen billions of tons of sand worldwide and been known for bribing officials and making workers work under awful conditions.

At the moment there is no alternative to marine sand, but there are several ongoing projects that are examining solutions to replace sand with for example glass, clay or recycled concrete.

It is important that we become aware of this crucial problem and don’t take our beaches for granted, it is something we must also preserve for future generations.
Take a look at the following infographic (TradeMachines.com) to find out more about sand scarcity!