March 18, 2023
Paradise Lost
A Story of Plastic Pollution and the Power of Sustainable Alternatives
Across the bay from our Guatemala Cleanup Headquarters, we were faced with the shocking reality of plastic pollution in paradise.
You never know what you’ll find when you pull up to a cleanup location, and this day was no different.
The turquoise blue water and coconut trees waving in the breeze gave no indication of what lay across the horizon.
But as we got closer to Punta Manabique, a lush peninsula just across the bay from our Guatemala Cleanup Headquarters in Puerto Barrios, the water changed.
We began to pass pieces of floating plastic debris. In an instant, we internalized what our Garmin GPS units had been telling us: we’re getting closer to the mouth of the Rio Motagua.
Known to many as one of the most polluted rivers in Central America, the mouth of this mighty, landscape-sculpting, once-life-giving river is situated about 30 miles south of the day’s cleanup location. But as we learned, 30 miles is not far enough to escape the river’s cargo.
As we approached the beach, a large slick of plastic debris mixed with floating seaweed welcomed us to the challenge we would soon face.
Across the bay from our Guatemala Cleanup Headquarters, we were faced with the shocking reality of plastic pollution in paradise.
You never know what you’ll find when you pull up to a cleanup location, and this day was no different.
The turquoise blue water and coconut trees waving in the breeze gave no indication of what lay across the horizon.
But as we got closer to Punta Manabique, a lush peninsula just across the bay from our Guatemala Cleanup Headquarters in Puerto Barrios, the water changed.
We began to pass pieces of floating plastic debris. In an instant, we internalized what our Garmin GPS units had been telling us: we’re getting closer to the mouth of the Rio Motagua.
Known to many as one of the most polluted rivers in Central America, the mouth of this mighty, landscape-sculpting, once-life-giving river is situated about 30 miles south of the day’s cleanup location. But as we learned, 30 miles is not far enough to escape the river’s cargo.
As we approached the beach, a large slick of plastic debris mixed with floating seaweed welcomed us to the challenge we would soon face.
Across the bay from our Guatemala Cleanup Headquarters, we were faced with the shocking reality of plastic pollution in paradise.
You never know what you’ll find when you pull up to a cleanup location, and this day was no different.
The turquoise blue water and coconut trees waving in the breeze gave no indication of what lay across the horizon.
But as we got closer to Punta Manabique, a lush peninsula just across the bay from our Guatemala Cleanup Headquarters in Puerto Barrios, the water changed.
We began to pass pieces of floating plastic debris. In an instant, we internalized what our Garmin GPS units had been telling us: we’re getting closer to the mouth of the Rio Motagua.
Known to many as one of the most polluted rivers in Central America, the mouth of this mighty, landscape-sculpting, once-life-giving river is situated about 30 miles south of the day’s cleanup location. But as we learned, 30 miles is not far enough to escape the river’s cargo.
As we approached the beach, a large slick of plastic debris mixed with floating seaweed welcomed us to the challenge we would soon face.
Plastic. Everywhere. Plastic between the plastic. Plastic on the plastic. Plastic beneath the plastic. And not just any kind of plastic. Most of what we found was single-use cutlery.
Three pangas were anchored just out of reach of the rising tide, their sterns pulled onto the soft sand. The team got to work removing super sacks, donning gloves, and applying reef-safe sunscreen. A few steps beyond the tide line is all it took for the situation to sink in.
You see, the Rio Motagua flows from the center of the country through the mountains to the coast. And on its way, it picks up trash. Tons and tons of it.
Like many countries around the world, Guatemala is a new market for plastic exports that has limited waste management infrastructure like recycling centers and incinerators. In fact, there is only one official garbage dump for the entire country. Located in the capital, Guatemala City, the dump isn’t accessible to many of the rural, inland communities nestled along the river. Instead, these communities handle plastic waste the same way they handled their organic waste—by burning it in the family fire or discarding it in the environment. But plastic doesn’t biodegrade, or get reabsorbed into the environment like a leaf becomes soil. During the rainy season, all of that trash is swept into the river and carried to the ocean.
Here, winds and tides carry the trash both north and south, distributing it on coastlines from Belize to Honduras and beyond. Debris that floats ends up on the beaches. Debris that doesn’t chokes out underwater ecosystems like the Mesoamerican Reef—the largest barrier reef in the Western hemisphere.
We’re on this remote beach, miles from anyone. A beach once viewed as a tropical paradise. A beach that now is a perpetual reservoir for our waste.
On seeing the amount of single-use plastic housed here, we set to work to show just how big of an impact people can have if they take a simple first step in sustainability: cutting out single-use plastic.
We set to work collecting all the plastic forks, knives, and spoons we could find and placing them into a pile. As the pile grew, so did our awareness of the impact each of us can have.
Three pangas were anchored just out of reach of the rising tide, their sterns pulled onto the soft sand. The team got to work removing super sacks, donning gloves, and applying reef-safe sunscreen. A few steps beyond the tide line is all it took for the situation to sink in.
You see, the Rio Motagua flows from the center of the country through the mountains to the coast. And on its way, it picks up trash. Tons and tons of it.
Like many countries around the world, Guatemala is a new market for plastic exports that has limited waste management infrastructure like recycling centers and incinerators. In fact, there is only one official garbage dump for the entire country. Located in the capital, Guatemala City, the dump isn’t accessible to many of the rural, inland communities nestled along the river. Instead, these communities handle plastic waste the same way they handled their organic waste—by burning it in the family fire or discarding it in the environment. But plastic doesn’t biodegrade, or get reabsorbed into the environment like a leaf becomes soil. During the rainy season, all of that trash is swept into the river and carried to the ocean.
Here, winds and tides carry the trash both north and south, distributing it on coastlines from Belize to Honduras and beyond. Debris that floats ends up on the beaches. Debris that doesn’t chokes out underwater ecosystems like the Mesoamerican Reef—the largest barrier reef in the Western hemisphere.
We’re on this remote beach, miles from anyone. A beach once viewed as a tropical paradise. A beach that now is a perpetual reservoir for our waste.
On seeing the amount of single-use plastic housed here, we set to work to show just how big of an impact people can have if they take a simple first step in sustainability: cutting out single-use plastic.
We set to work collecting all the plastic forks, knives, and spoons we could find and placing them into a pile. As the pile grew, so did our awareness of the impact each of us can have.
After a few hours of cleaning, we set off from Punta Manabique, the pangas loaded down with the day’s haul. It didn’t take long for us to face our next challenge: a broken engine. But that’s a story for another day.
I wish you could have been there with us and hope the video at the beginning of this blog makes a lasting impact on you and everyone you share it with.
And in case you’re wondering, I got myself a set of reusable cutlery and use it every day.
Josh Liberman
Clean Ocean Warrior + Sr. Video Producer
Clean Ocean Warrior +
Sr. Video Producer
March 18, 2023
Make the swap!
Made from sustainable, responsibly-sourced bamboo, this utensil set is the perfect swap for single-use plastic utensils. The case is even made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Your purchase funds cleanups just like this one!
Make the swap!
Made from sustainable, responsibly-sourced bamboo, this utensil set is the perfect swap for single-use plastic utensils. The case is even made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Your purchase funds cleanups just like this one!
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