Why we came

Here we are in Mahahual Mexico.  We came here as scuba divers.  Thrilled to explore the Meso American reef or better known as The Great Mayan Reef, the second largest reef system outside of the great barrier reef in Australia.  And it is amazing. This beautiful fishing village is located in the southern part of the state of Quintana Roo. The people are warm and welcoming.  The population is small, but there is quite a large international community that came to find peace and tranquility in nature and by this unique and beautiful environment.  

Why we are staying

Garbage.  This eco-system is being attacked by waste.  Every kind of garbage you can think of, but mostly plastic.  So much waste that is washing up on the beaches everyday.  We have been told that the currents flush the waste in the ocean to this part of the world.   As we have started the clean-up process, we do find garbage from all over latin america and the Caribbean here.  We have also seen waste from China and the North America.  

We are organizing a beach and reef cleanup in and around Mahahual, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The problem is evident and the beaches are a starting point for us because here it is impossible to ignore; the surface of the beach appears to be fifty percent sand and vegetation and fifty percent water bottles and worse; disintegrating plastic pieces becoming a permanent part of the sand and shore, entering into the food chain, leaching into the water and ruining the landscape.

Our goal is to address the obvious issue first, then work our way backwards from what the ocean is throwing up every day, to determining and documenting where it comes from, and how it finds its way into the water so consistently. So the most apparent course of action is to clean up the beach and find an environmentally sound way to dispose of the trash. Some of this is straightforward; we have the advantage of seeing the same kinds of trash arriving regularly with the tide, making it easier to anticipate and deal with.

Recyclable plastic is being sorted on the beach into categories that the local recycling stations can process. We have contacted the closest station, located in Chetumal, Q.Roo, and met with Ricardo, who runs the operation.  We have an evolving agreement to gather and sort, and he will make the one and a half hour drive   to come and collect when we have enough to make the trip worthwhile.  These bottles and a lot of the other flotsam have a minimal cash value, and we hope that this can offset at least some of the cost of hiring the labor needed to comb the endless expanses of beach affected.  That is our vision; to be able to hire and sustain a force of local laborer who will routinely maintain the health of the beach. Straightforward, but a massive undertaking. We are working on a 1,100 ft (365 meters or so) stretch, and with the help of some local talent, Miguel and Pedro, we have met our quota in the past two days for Ricardo to come and collect, and the beach is far from pristine; the culprits being the small shards and bottle caps hard to extract by hand. of course as our support grows, we will be able to increase the area covered and hire some more hands

Water Bottles That Washed On Shore From…
JAMAICA
CHINA
HONDURAS
ARKANSAS,USA
MALAYSIA
MALAYSIA
NEW YORK, USA
ARGENTINA
Viet Nam

PROJECT AWARE IN MAHAHUAL
So MARISOL participated in Project Aware’s Yearly Reef Clean-Up here in Mahahual, Mexico. Each year volunteer’s around the world clean up waste that is in the ocean and on the beaches. It is a really big event here with a lot of volunteers. As divers, we were part of the scuba dive team that removed waste from the ocean. The big save was from 2 divers Becky and Micheal who removed some plastic bags that were strangling some coral. Way to Go!

Hats off to Julie Minter who organized the event in Mahahual. She is a deep, caring, compassionate woman. She is very passionate about the ocean and environment. She kicked ass.
Anna and Julie
Luca and Angel
Another real treat for us was to meet Angel and Manolo from Sustenta. They are doing great work so check out their website. And also Jonathan from a recycling company in Mexico city called Recicla. Jonathan is very committed to helping create a sustainable infrastructure here of waste and recycling management. Over all it was a very cool event. We were honored to be a part of it.

Another Day on the job 8/10 of a Mile Beach Cleaned

CLEANED!Miguel and Juan after another day kicking ass

WE FOUND THIS IN THE OCEAN

Pinche Bolsas De Plastico/ F*cking Plastic Bags…Or 1 swimmer, 1 day, too many plastic bags in the ocean to count. An Ice Cold Beer waiting (Bien Fria)..

From The Nature Conservancy Website
Last December, seven sperm whales washed up on an Italian beach — all of them dead from plastic (and, let’s be fair, other debris like rope, tin cans and other containers) in their stomachs.

In 2008, it was a dead sperm whale near Point Reyes, California. Its stomach contents? An astonishing 450 pounds of fishing net, some kind of mesh, braided rope, plastic bags and one plastic comb.

In 2006, scientists reviewed 371 sea turtle necropsies (an autopsy of an animal) since 1968 and discovered that one-third of the turtles had likely died from eating plastic.

Miguel y Santos