Salobreña Council has launched its citizen participation process to develop its Local Circular Economy Plan. The initiative carries the slogan “Your opinion counts to build a more sustainable Salobreña”. Councillors hope to create a practical roadmap that makes the town more efficient while protecting the environment for years ahead.

Circular economy principles at core of plan

Circular economy thinking focuses on cutting waste through greater reuse and recycling. It also hopes to get smarter use of resources and the creation of fresh economic and social chances. Adopting this approach supports daily life improvements for people in Salobreña. It safeguards the natural surroundings that define the area. Innovation receives promotion, and long-term development becomes possible for current residents plus future generations.

Councillor stresses value of local knowledge

Councillor Luis Cano, who leads the area, described citizen input as essential. He said that participation helps identify what matters most and reveals actual needs. Actions can then match real challenges because local people understand Salobreña opportunities better than anyone else. Cano added that neighbours and businesses should join the effort. Working together produces a more responsible place ready to face future demands.

Benefits expected across Salobreña community

The plan targets practical gains in several areas. Waste reduction frees up space and lowers costs for households and firms. Reuse and recycling habits build cleaner streets and beaches that attract visitors. Resource optimisation lowers energy and material bills over time. New opportunities appear in repair services, green products and local projects that employ people. Overall quality of life rises when the environment stays healthy and innovation spreads through schools and small enterprises. Future generations inherit a place organised around lasting balance rather than constant disposal.

Participation process now open to all

Town hall staff want every voice heard during this stage. Proposals, ideas and suggestions will shape a plan that fits Salobreña conditions exactly. Residents can share thoughts on daily waste habits, business practices or community spaces. Businesses can get chances to suggest changes that cut costs while meeting environmental goals. Associations and groups bring perspectives from different neighbourhoods. All contributions help build ownership so the final document reflects genuine priorities rather than top-down ideas alone.

Path forward for sustainable Salobreña

This process marks the start of wider conversations about daily habits and municipal decisions. Early input now influences later actions on collection systems, repair networks and education campaigns. Salobreña makes itself meet national and regional circular economy targets through grounded local work. Continued resident involvement keeps the plan relevant as conditions change. The result should deliver measurable progress on waste volumes, resource use and community wellbeing across the whole area.

Local people in Salobreña can take part through several straightforward routes. They visit the official participation platform at salobrenaparticipa.es to submit proposals and follow progress on the circular economy plan. Social media posts from the council include a QR code that links directly to more details and input forms. Residents also contact the participation office by email at participacion@salobrenaparticipa.es or by calling the main number 958 610 011. Upcoming workshops offer chances to discuss ideas in person with councillors and staff. Formal suggestions go through the electronic headquarters at sede.ayto-salobrena.es for official recording.

Police in Berlin have deployed water cannons into the streets to spray fine mist over people seeking some sort of relief from soaring temperatures this weekend. Officers began operations at the Brandenburg Gate before moving on to Potsdamer Platz and other central locations. They had already dispensed 9,000 litres by mid-afternoon and paused to refill tanks before continuing patrols.

Temperatures break previous records

Temperatures climbed sharply across the capital region on Saturday, June 27. The weather station at Berlin-Tempelhof recorded 39.5ºC, beating the prior high of 38.6ºC set in Koepenick during 2015. Potsdam reached 39.9ºC on the same day. Forecasters warned that readings could touch 41ºC before long, with conditions remaining oppressive for the coming week.

Pools reach capacity as crowds seek relief

Outdoor swimming pools filled rapidly, forcing many facilities to turn people away by early afternoon. Visitors reported long waits and frustration at several sites, including one in Wilmersdorf. Indoor options faced similar pressure. Staff at the historic Charlottenburg baths stopped selling tickets around 4.30pm, leaving long queues waiting outside in the hope of entry. Some swimmers considered trying other indoor venues instead.

Emergency services handle rise in heat-related calls

Fire and rescue teams responded to more incidents than usual throughout Saturday. Crews dealt mainly with circulatory complaints, cardiac arrests and problems at swimming spots. A spokesperson said that Friday had already produced over 300 extra calls compared with normal levels for the time of year, and Saturday followed a comparable pattern.

Motorway melt forcing major diversions

Heat damage worsened on the A2 motorway linking Brandenburg with Saxony-Anhalt. Police closed successive junctions near Ziesar after sections of the surface deteriorated to the point where safe driving became impossible. Traffic diverted onto local roads, creating even further congestion on alternative routes. Drivers received strong advice to avoid the motorway altogether, as mapping apps showed inaccurate delay times. Those who travelled anyway were urged to carry extra water, food and any essential medication.

For some patients in hospice or palliative care, the hardest separation is not only from home, but from the animal that makes it one. A proposed law in Poland would give dying patients the right to receive pet visits, raising difficult questions for hospitals in Spain, the UK and across Europe.

One last pet visit can matter so much at the end of life

For many people, a dog or cat is not just a pet. It is another family member that follows them from room to room, loves unconditionally, waits by the door, sleeps beside the bed and somehow knows when we need their company.

In Poland the question being raised is if a dying patient should have to spend their final days cut off from the animal they love?

Polish MPs have proposed a legal change that would give patients in stationary hospices and palliative medicine wards the right to have contact with their domestic animals. The proposal would amend Poland’s Act on Patient Rights and the Patient Rights Ombudsman, meaning pet visits would no longer depend only on whether a hospital or hospice decides to allow them.

The debate has been shaped by deeply human cases in Warsaw. One woman with advanced cancer was reportedly more worried about the dog waiting at home than about herself. Another seriously ill patient was reunited with his cats in a palliative ward, a moment doctors said showed how much comfort an animal can bring when words are no longer enough.

In practice, the rule would affect the kind of moment that rarely fits neatly into hospital policy: a patient asking to see the dog that has slept beside them for years, or the cat still being cared for by relatives at home.

How Poland’s proposal would turn comfort into a patient right

The Polish proposal would not create an open-door rule for animals in hospitals. Managers would still be able to refuse or restrict visits logically where there are infection risks, safety concerns or practical barriers.

Hospitals also have to protect other patients, staff and visitors. While some wards care for people with weakened immune systems and others have strict hygiene rules or limited space.

But the important change is where the conversation begins. Instead of families asking for an exception, the patient’s need for contact with a beloved animal would be recognised in law.

That shift in the Polish case could influence other European countries to follow suit. It asks whether emotional comfort at the end of life should be treated as an optional extra, or as part of dignified care. 

Patients in Spain depend completely on individual hospital rules

Spain does not appear to have a single national rule giving hospital patients a general right to see their pets. Instead, the answer depends on the hospital, the region and the patient’s condition.

In Andalucía, the Hospital Civil in Málaga launched “Tu mascota te acompaña”, meaning “Your pet accompanies you”, through its palliative care unit in 2025. The programme is aimed at terminal patients who have expressed the wish to say goodbye to their companion animal before their last day in hospital.

The scheme allows authorised and identified pets to visit under agreed safety rules. It is a compassionate model, but still a local programme rather than a national guarantee.

How UK patients face the same emotional uncertainty 

In the UK, pet visits also depend heavily on local rules.

Royal College of Nursing guidance says patients’ own pet dogs are generally not permitted in healthcare settings, except in exceptional circumstances. Hospices and some care settings are among the places where such visits may be appropriate.

Some NHS hospital policies are more direct. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, for example, permits domestic pets to visit end-of-life patients only, while also warning about infection, allergies and patient safety.

These uncertainties and lack of general standing rules could sound unreasonable and without sense. A patient is allowed many human visitors, but not the dog or cat that has been a part of their family and daily life for years.

Hospices are often more flexible than acute hospitals, but permission is still usually needed in advance. The visit may require veterinary documents, a lead or carrier, a responsible handler and agreement from staff.

Europe is slowly making space for animals in care

Other European countries show that the idea is spreading. In France, residents in care homes known as Ehpad and independent living residences can now keep pets under certain conditions linked to hygiene, safety and the resident’s ability to care for the animal.

French hospitals are also experimenting. In Paris, Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital has introduced a protocol allowing dogs and cats to visit hospitalised patients under strict hygiene conditions and individual assessment.

In Italy, some local health authorities permit dogs and cats to enter inpatient healthcare facilities if families meet set rules. 

It would seem that Europe is beginning to recognise the emotional role of animals in illness, but remains to take any concrete action towards legitimising the issue. 

How families can ask for permission for a visit

Families hoping to arrange a pet visit should ask as early as possible, especially if a patient is in palliative care or facing a long hospital stay.

Most hospitals that allow visits will want proof that the animal is healthy, vaccinated and under control. Visits may be refused if the patient is clinically unstable, in isolation, dependent on continuous oxygen, severely immunocompromised, allergic risk is high or the animal is likely to become distressed.

Poland’s proposal has put a quiet but painful question into public view. In the final days of life, should a pet be considered another familiar visitor, as it may be their strongest link to emotional connection and their home?