BajaNomad

Wildcoast garbage clean up in Asuncion

shari - 5-19-2012 at 06:27 AM

Every time I drove by the cliffs area at the point, I shuddered with dread at all the unsightly garbage everywhere...so when I saw the flyers all over town for a Wildcoast sponsored community garbage clean up last weekend, we made it part of our weekend ritual...which usually consists of going to Ramon's for the worlds best shrimp tacos...then to the beach.

Seeing as Nomad Wanderglobe and Michael the sandcastle man had been in town for a week, we invited them to participate in this local affair. Although early mornings isnt their cup of tea...we roused them out of their sleeping bags to help make Asuncion a more beautiful place.



We were a bit disappointed to arrive and only see a small handful of folks at the site...but what we lacked in numbers, we made up for in enthusiasm!

Even the kids and puppies helped in their own ways!





I didnt thing such a small group could tackle all the trash in the area...but by the end of the morning...the area was gorgeous!





We discussed ways to attract more people to come out and pitch in...like having a carne asada BBQ afterwards.

Then we treated ourselves to shrimp tacos & Tecates at Ramon's! Thanks to all who DID come out to the clean up!

Ateo - 5-19-2012 at 06:40 AM

Wild coast does good work for Baja. Thanks to all who volunteered!

Bob H - 5-19-2012 at 06:44 AM

That's a great report Shari, and those tacos look great!

tiotomasbcs - 5-19-2012 at 06:58 AM

DavidE must have written them a letter?! Jus joking. Maybe the Surf team or High School kids could organize a wweekly/monthly Cleanup. Good work! :spingrin::spingrin: Tio

Hi Shari, Maybe This Story Will Inspire Someone

Gypsy Jan - 5-19-2012 at 07:21 AM

From the San Francisco Chronicle

Beach Trash to Yard Art on Colusa Ave.

By Carolyn Jones

"Tanya Smith, your hard hat is in Mark Olivier's front yard.

"Anyone missing a catamaran? That's in Olivier's yard, too. Or at least big chunks of it.

Umbrella handles? Fishing poles? Ironing boards? They're all there, along with thousands of other items that have washed up on East Bay beaches.

But what was once trash is now art. Olivier, 57, a longtime carpenter turned glop artist, has converted seven years' worth of shoreline detritus into sculptures so striking they literally stop traffic. Butane lighters, worn-out shoes, flotation devices - all are the stuff of his expanding collection.

"My favorite is the poodle," said Jeff Garrett, a neighbor of Olivier's on Colusa Avenue in North Berkeley. "All that work and imagination that went into it. Although I like the skunk, too. The skunk's too cute."

The 5-foot-high canine - painstakingly fashioned from neon blue crabbing rope - is the newest attraction in Olivier's front yard.

His postage-stamp-size lawn is cluttered with an odd and colorful menagerie of samurai warriors, Buddhas, animals, Greek gods, tiki masks and, of course, hard hats. Fifty-seven hard hats, including one affixed with Tanya Smith's name tag, hang, Christmas ornament-style, from a pittosporum tree.

But the collection doesn't stop at his property line. He's colonized the yards of a dozen or so neighbors as well.

"You'd be amazed at the crap that washes up," said Olivier. "And this is just the (stuff) I bring home. What's astounding is the amount I leave there."
How it started

Olivier's obsession began when he was in the throes of a midlife crisis. He was walking his poodle, Zsa Zsa, at a former coastal landfill site known as the Albany Bulb one morning, bemoaning, as he did daily, the volume of trash on the beach.

"I was thinking, 'why doesn't someone clean this (stuff) up?' " said Olivier, who has a certain facility with the curse word. (He didn't use the word 'stuf.f') "Then I thought, '-hole, why don't you clean it up?' "

He started small. His first haul was some old cigarette lighters and random bits of plastic. But why he decided to use the items for art, and not toss them in the trash, he can't say.
'Like being a kid'

"It's just fun. I get to play with stuff. It's like being a kid again," he said "When I'm done with a piece, I set it in the front yard and just laugh for 15 minutes."

[Edited on 5-19-2012 by Gypsy Jan]

goldhuntress - 5-19-2012 at 07:22 AM

That is really great! Good for you guys And the tacos look delish and well deserved,:bounce:

[Edited on 5-19-2012 by goldhuntress]

shari - 5-19-2012 at 07:42 AM

thanks Jan...pretty neat all right!

This cliff area had the most boring garbage...mostly plastic bags caught on the prickly bushes, diapers, plastic soda bottles etc. This garbage mostly comes from the houses up on the cliff...it blows out of their garbage bins or they are tipped over by dogs...so if those houses would just secure thier bins and put lids on them...much of the constant trash there would be eliminated. It was kinda weird seeing those house owners watching us pick up the trash that mostly came from their houses.

mcfez - 5-19-2012 at 07:46 AM

Excellent thing to do. Our campos does the same ting several times per year



LOve the puppy picture

Bajaboy - 5-19-2012 at 07:54 AM

We're always game to help out when in town. Sounds like a great activity for all.

Udo - 5-19-2012 at 08:14 AM

Cute puppy shot, Shari!

Marc - 5-19-2012 at 08:30 AM

I have cleaned beaches all over; Polynesia,Micronesia, SE Asia, etc. I remember 20+ years ago I suggested that we clean up Agua Verde. Back then the beach area near the village was one of the worst I had ever seen... I was slammed for "insulting the locals"

boe4fun - 5-19-2012 at 08:32 AM

Good on all of ya! Shari, check your U2U.

DavidE - 5-19-2012 at 08:45 AM

One of the "great revelations" to me on my first trip to Mexico were the "basureos" the public dumps just outside the pueblos on the carretera principal (main road). Back then, it was piles and piles of rusting steel cans and glass bottles. Little else was there, anything at all "fresh" was given to the pig or goats or anything that would consume them.

Our vecinos used to watch in wonder as we were packing up camp to leave. Not only would we police the immediate area, but wander in a wide radius picking up glass bottles, rusting cans, and detritus of every description. We would with pick and shovel bury everything in a remote spot.

Except for southern Mexico the gente are becoming more picky about trash. Shoulders of highways are now cleaner than they ever have been. It may take decades longer for rural Mexico to adopt this attitude, of heaving trash out the back window for the wind to scatter, but what a difference the last twenty years have made! Progress my first thirty years went a lot slower.

woody with a view - 5-19-2012 at 08:57 AM

we donate to wildcoast. you should too!

ElCap - 5-19-2012 at 09:22 AM

More and more towns in Baja are recycling now - not just aluminum, but also plastic soda bottles, glass, and even plastic tubing and sheeting from many of the large commercial agricultural operatons. This helps, but it is the small plastic bags which every store puts your purchase into, that seem to be the most prevalent - or at least the most visible - basura you see blowing in the wind all over Baja. It will take time, but we all need to spread the word that these bags usually are not needed - bring a small nylon stuff sack with you when you shop instead. Old habits die hard, but teach the kids and they will carry it forward. Even better, have WildCoast or some other organization hand out re-useable nylon bags to every store in town to give to their local customers - a small investment with big rewards.

durrelllrobert - 5-19-2012 at 09:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gypsy Jan
From the San Francisco Chronicle

Beach Trash to Yard Art on Colusa Ave.

By Carolyn Jones

"Tanya Smith, your hard hat is in Mark Olivier's front yard.

"My favorite is the poodle," said Jeff Garrett, a neighbor of Olivier's on Colusa Avenue in North Berkeley. "All that work and imagination that went into it. The 5-foot-high canine - painstakingly fashioned from neon blue crabbing rope - is the newest attraction in Olivier's front yard.

Fifty-seven hard hats, including one affixed with Tanya Smith's name tag, hang, Christmas ornament-style, from a pittosporum tree.


[Edited on 5-19-2012 by Gypsy Jan]
Here's some pics:

rts551 - 5-19-2012 at 10:07 AM

I am glad to see the effort. More towns need recycling of their plastic. what a blight on the countryside.

Why do you think there was little participation?

SFandH - 5-19-2012 at 10:39 AM

Serge is a dedicated environmentalist. His WiLDCOAST organization is growing and doing important work from Imperial Beach, his home, down the coast. Heavy focus on the Tijuana sloughs. I've had some contact with his folks, a very intelligent and professional group of people.

http://www.wildcoast.net/who-we-are/staff/1-serge-dedina-ph-...

shari - 5-19-2012 at 02:05 PM

My opinion of why not many people participate is this...now dont take this the wrong way folks...but i see that mexicanos in the rural areas at least are embarassed to do some activities like picking up someone elses trash...they wouldnt want to be seen by their peers.

Also, I heard mumblings that "Oh it's just so and so's family"...kinda like...well, if there are only a couple families...it's like a family thing so others wont go. Villages tend to be clanish and if it isnt your clan organizing or participating, well you just dont go...if it's not your circle of amigos....yet most everyone goes to a free dance no matter what clan is paying for it!

Then there is apathy and laziness and it was the morning after a dance in town too. there are lots of reasons...mostly cultural...it's something new and because the sight of garbage doesnt really upset many locals, there isnt any incentive to get out there...no free beer or food.

So our personal stategy is to just talk about it with everyone we encounter, in the stores, taco stands, sporting events and try to get people thinking it is a fun and rewarding way to spend a morning....especially the kids.

rts551 - 5-19-2012 at 02:56 PM

Punta Abreojos overcame this by establishing an organization for community action. MEAPA - Mujeres EN Accion. I believe Wildcoast already works with them. I thought Asuncion was doing the same thing?

I will mention it to the MEAPA leaders.


http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000402060898

Skipjack Joe - 5-19-2012 at 03:33 PM

I remember the basurera on the right on the way to San Roques. The wind just blows everything ligh from the basurera across the desert. Is this where the carefully collected bags of garbage are now going?

shari - 5-19-2012 at 04:23 PM

Igor, that was an old dump....the new one is waaaaaay out of town...out of view.

rts551 - 5-19-2012 at 07:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I remember the basurera on the right on the way to San Roques. The wind just blows everything ligh from the basurera across the desert. Is this where the carefully collected bags of garbage are now going?


The way the wind blows along that coast, about the only way to stop the plastic bags from blowing across the desert is to get rid of the plastic bags.

Iflyfish - 5-20-2012 at 01:31 AM

Good one Shari, poco e poco!

I am old enough and have traveled Mexico long enough to recall the very first year the plastic bag was introduced to Mexico. The next year the countryside was littered with plastic bags, plastic bags everywhere, cacti, fences, trees, the desert and ditches. The landscape changed for what seemed like forever. Before this time women carried colorful shoulder bags made of fiber and the ubiquitous reboso carried everything. Of course the plastic bag is very convenient, sanitary and inexpensive to use. It is easy to see why it has become so popular around the world. As others have said there is a growing ecology movement in Mexico and like everywhere it is slow to make progress, but progress it is making. Building this into the children is what will be the game changer over time. Great job! Glad your clan is into it.

Here in Oregon it has become a bit of a status symbol to participate in the annual SOLV program, Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism, a day set aside to clean primarily the beaches, graffiti etc. This day is well advertised and seen on television and has become a popular event.

Iflyfishinaweofthecleanersandgleaners

OCEANUS - 5-20-2012 at 09:56 AM

Does anyone know if Wildcoast has shown any interest in the Sea of Cortez? All of their northern Baja efforts posted on their website seemed to be along the Pacific.

We always remove trash along the beach when we are in BOLA, but it's an uphill battle. Even within our relatively small range between Bahia Guadalupe, to Angel de la Guarda, down to Barnabe rocks, these isolated beached are littered with trash. Not all of it is bags, instead it's mostly plastic beverage bottles, oil bottles, lighters, crates, etc.

I really like the suggestion of donating reusable bags to be handed out to stores in town. This could help reduce the waste generated by single use bags, and reduce the cost to the storeowners to purchase future stocks of new ones.

As far as recycling goes, is there a mexican equivalent of a CRV to act as incentive for towns to recycle, or are they just doing it to clean up?

woody with a view - 5-20-2012 at 09:58 AM

no CRV just scrap prices.

DENNIS - 5-20-2012 at 10:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by OCEANUS
As far as recycling goes, is there a mexican equivalent of a CRV to act as incentive for towns to recycle, or are they just doing it to clean up?


Poverty is their incentive. It's well known here that, "You can't litter aluminum."
That beer can is in someone's bag before the second bounce.

Specifically....No. No CRV incentives.

OCEANUS - 5-20-2012 at 10:24 AM

I realize that aluminum scrap prices can be an incentive, but not plastic. Plastic is expensive to recycle; not very cost effective.

A couple earlier posts have commented on some towns recycling plastic. Is this recycling program carried out individually by each town, or is there some other program (possibly governmental, non-profit, etc. ) that is helping to subsidize the recycling effort?

rts551 - 5-20-2012 at 11:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by OCEANUS
Does anyone know if Wildcoast has shown any interest in the Sea of Cortez? All of their northern Baja efforts posted on their website seemed to be along the Pacific.

We always remove trash along the beach when we are in BOLA, but it's an uphill battle. Even within our relatively small range between Bahia Guadalupe, to Angel de la Guarda, down to Barnabe rocks, these isolated beached are littered with trash. Not all of it is bags, instead it's mostly plastic beverage bottles, oil bottles, lighters, crates, etc.

I really like the suggestion of donating reusable bags to be handed out to stores in town. This could help reduce the waste generated by single use bags, and reduce the cost to the storeowners to purchase future stocks of new ones.

As far as recycling goes, is there a mexican equivalent of a CRV to act as incentive for towns to recycle, or are they just doing it to clean up?


They are mostly surfers

DENNIS - 5-20-2012 at 11:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by OCEANUS
I realize that aluminum scrap prices can be an incentive, but not plastic. Plastic is expensive to recycle; not very cost effective.

A couple earlier posts have commented on some towns recycling plastic. Is this recycling program carried out individually by each town, or is there some other program (possibly governmental, non-profit, etc. ) that is helping to subsidize the recycling effort?


There are recycleing businesses here, and they take everything from paper to glass, and metals, but I'm sure it's trucked out, or shipped out to be processed. Maybe it goes to Japan.

The most popular item to be sold for scrap are the power lines that get ripped off way too often.
%*)@#%@* speed freaks. They all need to die.

rts551 - 5-20-2012 at 11:53 AM

Problem is that the smaller communities do not have organized land fills or recycling centers.

boe4fun - 5-20-2012 at 06:24 PM

What Dennis said. So far, druggies have broken into our complex at the Special Ed. School in La Paz and have stolen tools, taken copper wiring and tubing from the air conditioning system on the roof, and the heavy (triply?) wire that runs from out front of the complex.

Bajaboy - 5-20-2012 at 08:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
Igor, that was an old dump....the new one is waaaaaay out of town...out of view.
Unfortunately it is still used by many....