Our group has talked a lot about doing a beach cleanup, but nobody seemed to be really into it. I know our professor had mentioned that it was pointless because more junk will just wash up on the beach throughout the day. I guess for me that was not really an issue; I would rather get out there and make a small dent in the cycle instead of standing by as it just continues undisturbed. On Sunday morning around 7 am I headed out on a solo service trip. I had some trusted latex gloves and two big trash bags to work with. The sun was well on it's way to rising and I felt rejuvenated as I walked to the beach.
I have always been passionate about environmental issues so the amount of trash on the beach was heartbreaking, but more of a reality check for me. This country of Belize has ONE recycling plant and its certainly not on the island. It is hard to image drinking out of a bottle and just tossing it in the trash, but here people just toss it on the ground. I have honestly never seen such a blatant disregard for the environment, and I don't think it's an intentional practice. There is no education here for people to be forced to face the facts that their island is quickly deteriorating. Sustainability is unheard of because people are so used to living in poverty that they will do what they can to make quick money.
I have always been passionate about environmental issues so the amount of trash on the beach was heartbreaking, but more of a reality check for me. This country of Belize has ONE recycling plant and its certainly not on the island. It is hard to image drinking out of a bottle and just tossing it in the trash, but here people just toss it on the ground. I have honestly never seen such a blatant disregard for the environment, and I don't think it's an intentional practice. There is no education here for people to be forced to face the facts that their island is quickly deteriorating. Sustainability is unheard of because people are so used to living in poverty that they will do what they can to make quick money.
The trash I picked up was mostly plastic bottles and Styrofoam. I avoided all paper because at least that has a reasonable decomposition rate. Bottle caps were everywhere, and is all I could think about was how easy those would be for the marine life to swallow. My beach cleanup filled the bags with glorious trash as the locals passed me by and made comments about how I was wasting my time. The non-locals seemed more interested in what I was doing and so I took the time to talk about the few things I do know.
And now for my sustainability side- I do not understand why we keep producing things in ways that are detrimental to our environment. I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to buying water, but at home I don't buy plastic bottles of water- no I have water bottles that I use constantly. I wish there were some laws in place that limit the amount of waste you can produce per household. Yet, then I start to think about where I live in North Carolina and how I was one of the only houses in the neighborhood that recycled. Whether is ignorance or lack of education- and I think it's a combination- the US is really in a position to set high standards for the way we live. It's impossible to expect a poor country like Belize to take initiative when they have people starving, so the developed countries should be trying to counter the waste production. I'm not sure if that makes sense but I will stop ranting now.
And now for my sustainability side- I do not understand why we keep producing things in ways that are detrimental to our environment. I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to buying water, but at home I don't buy plastic bottles of water- no I have water bottles that I use constantly. I wish there were some laws in place that limit the amount of waste you can produce per household. Yet, then I start to think about where I live in North Carolina and how I was one of the only houses in the neighborhood that recycled. Whether is ignorance or lack of education- and I think it's a combination- the US is really in a position to set high standards for the way we live. It's impossible to expect a poor country like Belize to take initiative when they have people starving, so the developed countries should be trying to counter the waste production. I'm not sure if that makes sense but I will stop ranting now.