BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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Clean ups in July 2020 - done done done!
I have been very busy cleaning up La Bocana a bit at a time.
For whatever reason, the area in front of the kids baseball field gets a lot of trash up against the fence. Being that it is not far at all from the
Pacific Ocean, I have made it my mission to stop by at least once a week. Here is the before, and after on a recent clean up I did.
This is in front of the local tire shop in town. Used to be that it was filthy every single week, it would take me days to clean it up. Now I can go
there once a month and it takes me less than an hour! Progress whoohooo! I did this clean up in June 2020.
And my latest project is mind boggling. In total, I believe it will take me 4 months to complete. It all began when I extended my walking a mile at
time towards an area of the desert that I had never walked on before...what did I find? The part of town that used to be the dump, before there was
an official dump.
So, I started stopping during my power walk to gather what I could into piles. Every day that I did not do the baseball field or another area of
choice, I walked the desert and did mini clean ups. These mini cleanups soon became major clean ups. One month turned into two. Two months turned
into three. Soon, in my estimation, I will finish. This part of the desert is right in front of the beach, there are many arroyos and all I could
envision was the next hurricane carrying all the plastic right into the ocean. NOT ON MY WATCH hahahaha
SPOT 1
SPOT 2
SPOT 3
SPOT 4
SPOT 5
SPOT 6 BEFORE AND AFTER just to give you an idea of what I did.
SPOT 7 BEFORE AND AFTER
I have to admit, this has been so fun to do! Makes me feel fuzzy inside in this craziest of worlds we are currently living in.
I hope you enjoyed the excursion through the desert! Sorry for the pics of the students that appear in the corners. It was easier to take screen
shots and then resize. It is the best I could do LOL
[Edited on 7-24-2020 by BajaBlanca]
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SFandH
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Excellent Blanca! Plastic makes such great containers, lightweight, strong, cheap, but the stuff never goes away.
I pick chit up too. Why not? Everybody should.
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MrBillM
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Plastic Pickup
It's hard to believe that so much plastic trash could could accumulate without the [native] local residents and business owners cleaning it
up.
Just kidding, of course.
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honda tom
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very cool way to spend some time... wish i was there
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David K
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Good job Blanca!
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BajaBlanca
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Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Just for the record, when I was a teen and living in Brazil, I did the same thing on Ipanema Beach as well. It
is the wonderful custom on Rio de Janeiro beaches to rent out beach chairs and umbrellas and then serve food and drinks, including stupidly cold beer
(that is how we Brazilians describe it). It is the most awful custom to just leave cups, cans, paper etc. right there where you are sitting.
At 5 am, a group of men comb the beach with rakes and remove all the trash. The problem is the trash that is blown into the pristine Atlantic Ocean
between being dropped and the clean up. I always picked up all the trash around us and I was told "the beach cleaner needs a job, fon't take it away
from him."
The lamest excuse ever but there you have it!
I also remember hearing that Greece and Italy have a huge problem with littering, we did not see it while we were there last year.
National Geographic had a weeklong set of programs on pollution around the world and folks who are trying to make a difference. In my case, I
realize I need to go back to the elementary school and work with the youngest kids. They need to get the message!
Have a great day you all!
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MrBillM
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Attaboy Girl !
Don't get me wrong. What you're doing is great. We did much the same for 32 years in Percebu (with the owners watching amused) and far
longer than that elsewhere in Baja and N.O.B. Whenever we'd go out to our favorite (BLM) shooting spot, I'd take a 30-gallon trash can and
make it a point to fill it. Which was fairly easy. Shooters leave behind a LOT of trash, including furniture, TVs and (especially) old refrigerators
used for targets. Those I've left behind.
As late as yesterday up in Poppet Flats, I was roaming the area picking up litter. Plastic bottles and food containers, pieces of kid's toys
and other crap left behind by campers, including CIGARETTE BUTTS. My wife picks up the actual crap left behind by their
dogs. I draw the line at that one.
BUT, doesn't it REALLY P-ss you off what lazy PIGS people are ?
Good luck on that educating the kids. What I've seen from kids is not only unconcerned trashiness, but wanton destruction.
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John Harper
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Good for you. I pick up all the trash I see in my neighborhood as well.
I've found two bicycles (fixed and sold both on CL), hundreds of cans and bottles, a coin purse with $25 cash, 2 dead raccoons,1 live injured raccoon,
and who knows what's next......
John
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LancairDriver
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Good work Blanca! Good example for the locals. Hope they are paying attention.
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BajaBlanca
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They are and every so often a group will form and they will do a LOT of cleanups.
There is one such group, sponsored by our ejido, cleaning up the cemetery this week. Plastic flowers are put when folks die and then left....they get
faded and break off. Quite messy over time.
There are 2 friends who always go out. They are focused now on removing brush from the roads. I focus on plastic, the brush doesn't faze me at all.
I prefer to go when I feel like it rather than be on a schedule...after all, we are retired, right Hahahaha
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BajaBlanca
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Just in case anyone thinks I am slacking off HAHAHAHAHA
When I have a lot on my plate. I do the mini cleanups. That was the case the last couple days. Today I picked an empty lot.
BEFORE:
AFTER
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BajaBlanca
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AKgringo
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Blanca isn't afraid of the cops!
Quote: Originally posted by lencho  | Blanca, don't you know that the white plastic bag is the BCS state flower?
It may be a protected species, hope you don't get busted! |
She even stole the local police chief's cat, which is a feliney!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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BajaBlanca
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You are right!!!! And like the typical NOT SO SMART thief, I then proceeded to post photos of the cat on facebook.
AKgringo, that was truly funny!
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BajaBlanca
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The end The end The end of this part of my 4 month clean up. It is so rewarding to finish and know I made a difference for Mother Earth.
I called on Tidiana and Abraham to help with the last part.
He picked up all the bags I had left along the path as I cleaned. Then he joined us. I paid them for the hour we did this last part and gave a
little money for gas.
Someone was driving by so I asked him to take some pics of us.
I wanted to show off my Brazilian shirt!
All these bags, except the 3 that we put together today, are from the months I have been plugging along. Even I was impressed Hahahaha
I already have the next project in mind....the road that leads from the main road to Bocanita. It is bad since it used to be used as the dump as
well.
This is what it looks like, one huge disgusting mess of glass and plastic mostly. I would like to pay Tidiana and Abraham to do this if anyone wants
to sponsor them? I say it will take 5 days max....it is easily one mile of junk.
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