A TONNE of rubbish dumped in a cave at Spain’s Picos de Europa National Park

Mountaineers have hauled more than a tonne of rubbish from a remote cave after discovering decades-old waste dumped deep inside a protected national park.

The shocking haul included chairs, gas cylinders, plastic bags, glass and metal, with some of the rubbish found around 35 metres inside a rocky chasm.

Eight huge sacks were filled during the painstaking clean-up, with teams having to use ropes, anchors, pulleys and specialist safety equipment to reach the waste.

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The rubbish was then hauled out by hand before being transported away for proper treatment, as reported by Need To Know.

The discovery was made near Cabaa Vernica, at around 2,300 metres above sea level, in Spain’s spectacular Picos de Europa National Park.

The mountain range stretches across Cantabria, Asturias and Castilla y Len and is popular with hikers, climbers and tourists.

[Mountaineers have hauled more than a tonne of rubbish from a remote cave in Spain, discovering decades-old waste including chairs and gas cylinders dumped deep inside.Mountaineers have hauled more than a tonne of rubbish from a remote cave in Spain, discovering decades-old waste including chairs and gas cylinders dumped deep inside.]Mountaineers during their clean-up drive. (Jam Press/Federacin Cantabra de Deportes de Montaa y Escalada)

But its dramatic landscape is also riddled with cracks, shafts and underground cavities making rubbish dumped in them particularly difficult to spot or remove.

Much of the waste is believed to have been sitting inside the mountain for decades.

The operation was led by the Cantabrian Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing, alongside members of the Cantabrian Federation of Speleology and experienced mountain volunteers.

The teams were initially aiming to recover around 2,000kg of historic waste scattered through cracks and chasms around Cabaa Vernica.

Sara Novoa, from the FCDME, said the team quickly realised it was not a conventional clean-up.

(Jam Press/Federacin Cantabra de Deportes de Montaa y Escalada)

Some of the bags discovered inside the cavity were still closed despite their age, while more rubbish is believed to remain hidden in the area.

The latest stage of the operation has now seen the recovered waste removed by helicopter.

It was transported to Covarrobres, where a lorry collected the material before it was handed over to MARE for management and final treatment.

Organisers said the work formed part of a wider environmental recovery project carried out throughout 2026.

The project required months of planning, several days of high-mountain work and the help of numerous organisations, clubs and volunteers.

The clean-up was carried out as part of Project LIBERA, an environmental programme run by SEO/BirdLife and Ecoembes.

The programme uses the term basuraleza literally rubbish in nature to describe waste abandoned in natural environments.

Since its launch, more than 200,000 volunteers have taken part in LIBERA campaigns across Spain, removing around 800 tonnes of rubbish from natural spaces.

The latest operation has now returned another huge haul of waste to the proper disposal system but the job may not be finished yet.

Organisers say further rubbish remains hidden around the mountain and may need to be removed in future.

The operation also comes as new management rules for the Cantabrian section of Picos de Europa are due to come into force, strengthening controls around conservation, visitors and waste.

The volunteers’ message was simple: the mountain should never have been left to deal with the rubbish itself.

They described the operation as a collective effort to return to the mountain part of what never should have been there.

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(Jam Press/Federacin Cantabra de Deportes de Montaa y Escalada) (Jam Press/Federacin Cantabra de Deportes de Montaa y Escalada)