Beach Cleanup

7 days Beach Cleanup at the Nicoya Peninsula.

4 weeks ago I came to Santa Teresa in Costa Rica to volunteer at Casa Pampa (NGO).  As one of the first activities I was part of a beach cleanup with different organizations around that area, like Npwaterkeepers and a school in Mal Pais. It took us around half an hour to collect 80 kilos of waste! This got me shocked. My first impression was that the beaches here were clean. Wrong! I started looking more closely and the amount of plastic at the beach got me really concerned, moreover how much microplastic can be found everywhere: just  sitting somewhere and being able to collect at least 10 pieces of plastic without moving. Throughout my work with Casa Pampa I got a strong feeling I should do more than attending some organized cleanups. 

Inspired by my workplace and the movement of 5minbeachcleanup I started taking 5 min of my day collecting whatever I found at the beach. Documenting what I discovered and weighting it everyday. During the first days I was not really surpised by the plastic found. In the middle of the week though the pollution at the beach got so bad I found myself in a crisis of thinking it will never be enough what I’m doing and if I’m really having an effect on anything? On Sunday it reached the peak. Having a wonderful day at a beach in the nature reserve at Cabo Blanco with friends, in the middle of tons of plastic. This day I didn’t collect anything, my spirit from the beginning was gone.

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The next day I went to the local beach again and found a lot more waste than before. I met several people though collecting waste by themselves – together we are stronger! I couldn’t stop thinking about the garbage I’ve seen on Sunday though so Marina (another volunteer from Casa Pampa) and me went to collect garbage at one of the spots. After 5 min I already got 4 kilos of just plastic. We continued collecting as much as we could carry in the end. Finally it was 13 kilos, which eventually didn’t leave a feeling of relief because there was so much more left.

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The results

5 minutes for 7 days: 13,75 kilos of plastic. 82 straws. 308 plugs 

(the amount of other waste was insignificant, so not to mention) 

In the end the results were not really shocking for me as I’ve seen what beaches can look like. To outline the massive problem we are facing I want to display some data. In the present the volume of one garbage truck is littered in the ocean EVERY MINUTE. Around 80% of this waste is coming from the mainland through touristic activities, transport of waste by rivers or nearby dump sites. During the challenge for the first time in my life I could really imagine what the great pacific garbage patch must look like. There are 5 around the world, of which the “island” in the pacific is the biggest. It is now 19 times bigger than Austria. 

In total around 150 million tons of plastic can be found in the sea. Extended by 12 million tons every year. To clarify, it is certainly not only to blame on countries directly located at the ocean. Europe alone is responsible for 180 garbage trucks a day full of garbage. The waste management in Costa Rica, in Latin America in general, has clearly a lot of catching up to do, at this point, however, there is no place for blaming specific regions or people – it is to blame on all of us! And the problem is way too big and created by everyone to leave it with the geographical affected countries. There is more microplastic in the seas now than stars in the galaxy. 

It is on us to choose now in what world we want to live and in what world we want our children to live…. 

I’m not changing the world with this challenge, yet it was eye opening for me. It’s gonna have an effect on my future behaviour as a consumer, well it already does.The problem is way too massive to tackle with beach cleanups that’s for sure, there is pretty much just one simple solution –  stop using plastic! As a consumer we have the choice everyday, we can contribute every single day to make this world a better place.

“Reject single use plastic. Refuse what you can’t reuse”

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.

It starts with deciding not to use a plastic bag when shopping, requesting the waiter or waitress not to bring you a straw, buying vegetables not wrapped in plastic and ends with political engagement, call to action, boycott special companies – there are no limits. We just have to start now!

Sources


Volunteer - Shaun O'Connor

Volunteer - Shaun O'Connor

Hello! My name is Shaun O'Connor.  I am a native of Indiana in the U.S. I have been traveling and surfing in Santa Teresa for the better part of a decade each winter (Costa Rican summer.)  This “summer” I had the great opportunity to volunteer with Casa Pampa in their endeavor to create a thriving organic garden at the local school.


Green Dreamers

Italian, 37, passionate about my Pit bulls, keen on nature and travel, I am always learning and trying to get the most of each experience. My name is Maria and I´ve been volunteering with Casa Pampa for 3 weeks with the project “Santa Teresa Community Garden”.

I left my job as Project Manager to start my personal project: find an alternative way of living, closer to nature with less needs and in a more sustainable way. I was looking for a project in the environment field, and in particular with permaculture. I wanted to contribute to protect the environment, learn how to recycle in a smaller scale as individual, share my thoughts and ideas with people who had the same concerns as me.  

At Casa Pampa I found exactly what I was looking for: open-minded people, passionate about their job and eager to share their knowledge. I had the chance to meet other volunteers, make new friends and learn from their experiences too. Each one of us is here for a reason and sometimes you discover you are here for the same reason.

We work at the horticulture site, the so-called “Santa Teresa Community Garden”. The aim is to create a vegetable garden at disposal of the community, where people can learn to grow vegetables in a sustainable way, by using compost and just nature, without pesticides and in a simpler, more natural way.

This site works also as support of the recycling process. We receive organic waste from restaurants and we use it for making the compost. We also do beach cleaning; we separate what we collect and we give it to recycling centers.

I learn something new every day: how to seed, transplant, how to make the compost at home, what can be recycled and be used for new purposes. Creativity is our guide and everyone is free to express her/himself. I also love our brainstorming time. We just sit together and we chat at the shadow of the garden. We try to figure out how we can improve things and do a better job for the community and it's a very powerful moment, where you feel like one team of superheroes ☺

I am very proud of the results we achieved, even if the path is still long and there is a lot to do. But we don't give up, we are dreamers and warriors and we already work to achieve the next step for a better greener future!



Grace’s experience volunteering in Costa Rica with Casa Pampa

My experience during my the trip to Costa Rica has surpassed my expectations. I decided to come on this trip because I saw it as an enjoyable experience, but I am leaving with greater intentions to better the environment around me. As our trip here is coming to an end, I am leaving with a changed mindset about the world and the effects of our careless decisions regarding plastic pollution. At the beginning of our service, I was not too fond of picking up the plastic on the beach, but now I look forward to doing the same thing back in the United States. I have learned a multitude of ways to solve this problem locally and nationally. There are simple solutions such as building compost piles, recycling plastics, and repurposing trash instead of throwing it away. As an upcoming college freshman, I am challenging myself and my generation to put these easy solutions into effect from wherever you are reading this.

Grace Laws