AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Specials & Events Shoreline Cleanup November 2

SEE YOU THERE! LET'S ALL JOIN TOGETHER TO KEEP LA ISLA BONITA CLEAN!

The eastern shore has at least 20+ miles of coastline that our guests (and residents) regularly see and use. The pickup advertised above is super but it deals with only about 10% of the affected areas.

A more comprehensive and ongoing program needs to be created, implemented and maintained.

I think we need to go after the entities dumping crap in the water. A lot of what we found along our beach area appears to have originated in Guatemala. What can we do to curtail this horrible dumping?

There is the Port Honduras agreement between BZ-Honduras-Guate and think that was explored a few yrs back after other islands of garbage hit southern Belize. Best to contact TIDE in PG and SEA in Placencia and ask what they have done so far. Could be a waste mgmt. company who collect, reduce and then dump into the sea instead of a land fill or for recycling. It'll be hard to track down but the dumping and flows of garbage will not stop till it is

I agree completely, Diane. I do appreciate the efforts of the Town Council and many private citizens in the clean up, but living north of the bridge several miles and attempting to walk our beach trail every day is so very discouraging. While most resorts do a wonderful job of keeping their beach areas clean, there are many, many natural and undeveloped lots that should embrace the beauty of our island but serve only as a picture of careless disregard for our precious coast.
I believe out tourists will continue to choose other places to visit if we don't have a comprehensive, consistent clean-up program in place soon.

SPTC declares shoreline cleanup campaign a success

Over 30 bags of garbage were collected during the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) Shoreline Cleanup campaign. Held on Saturday, November 2nd, the cleanup begun at Central Park and ended at the beach in front of Victoria House Resort. The cleanup campaign started at 6AM as eager environmentalists came out to show their support and help clean up the beaches of San Pedro Town.

According to the Councilor responsible for Waste Management and Traffic Kenrick Brackett, there was a good turnout for the cleanup, and even though it was a bit chilly in the morning, the work finished quite quickly. "Everyone that came out to help did their part in cleaning up. We had volunteers from several businesses as well. Cleaning up our beaches is an important task because it is a major aspect of our tourism industry. But we want to keep the beaches clean and inviting, not only for tourists, but for our local residents as well," said Brackett.

Another team of determined environmentalists also took on the task of cleaning up Ambergris Caye's beaches even under the rainy weather. On Sunday, November 3rd and Monday, November 4th, the Green Reef Society and 12 high school students plus three professors from Collingwood College of Vancouver, Canada, teamed up to clean up a mile of beach within the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve and National Park. Joining the initiative was Peace Corps volunteers Christina Chapman and Diana Sanchez, and members of Belize Pro Divers. The beach cleanup was part of a community service project for the students' of the college. Leading the group was Professor Heather Dow, Senior Science Teacher and Lab Technician for Collingwood College. Over 80 bags of plastic products and non-biodegradable items were collected during the two-day beach cleanup.

According to the Green Reef Society, this year has seen the highest amount of marine garbage being washed on the shores of Ambergris Caye, with a record number of driftwood washing up. Most of the garbage on the beach appears to be coming from Central American countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, and has found its way to the shores of Belize due to heavy rain and flooding.

The SPTC encourages everyone to kindly dispose of their garbage properly, especially on the beach. Marine garbage presents a serious threat to marine life, especially sea turtles who mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, their favorite food. Marine birds, dolphins, and fish are especially prone to tangle in marine garbage. By cleaning up, we prevent such tragedies from occurring.

Kudos to Mayor Daniel Guerrero, the entire staff of SPTC, Green Reef, students and professors of Collingwood College and everyone that came out to support the shoreline cleanup campaign.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see more photos in the San Pedro Sun

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SHORELINE CLEANUP CAMPAIGN (18 photos)

On Saturday, November 2, 2013 the San Pedro Town Council engaged in a Shoreline Cleanup Campaign which was spearheaded by Councilor Kenrick Brackett. The Cleanup Campaign was from Boca del Rio to Victoria House and different groups were assigned different areas. The Cleanup Campaign was from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Thank you to the people who participated!