what's it going to take to keep the natives from turning this island into one big dump? Teaching kids at a young age to appreciate a clean environment is a start....
- Thread starter steve queen
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so much beauty....so much s***
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Yes.. it's a real shame. Dominicans in general are very fastidious about their personal hygiene yet will live surrounded by filth. It's a strange dichotomy.
There is an open field across from my condo and it is filled with garbage. Much of it from the residents of my complex. They will actually walk right past the garbage barrels and dump trash in the open field. Recently we had some new neighbors move in and they dumped boxes and trash into the field after unpacking from their move. The garbage is directly across from their own balcony. It's insane. It's like they don't even see it.
There is an open field across from my condo and it is filled with garbage. Much of it from the residents of my complex. They will actually walk right past the garbage barrels and dump trash in the open field. Recently we had some new neighbors move in and they dumped boxes and trash into the field after unpacking from their move. The garbage is directly across from their own balcony. It's insane. It's like they don't even see it.
Yes, I find it very strange as well...I am glad I am not the only one that is discusted by dead animals left on the side of the road and trash dumped at the bottom of a street...who do they think is going to pick it up? Does anyone? Do they have huge dumps anywhere? Certainly this stuff hasn't been there for years? I have heard alot of tourist tell me that they find it revolting and wont go back because of the garbage.
You are certainly not the only ones to notice. Yes there are large dumps. For example on the north coast there is a very large dump heading out from Puerto Plata to Santiago and I believe another dump between Sosua and the Puerto Plata Airport in La Union.
The problem is that the local communities do not set up a proper pick up and disposal scheme. And if they do have one, the people won't pay for the service. It's cheaper to just toss it out the window, into a local stream, or into an empty field.
The problem is that the local communities do not set up a proper pick up and disposal scheme. And if they do have one, the people won't pay for the service. It's cheaper to just toss it out the window, into a local stream, or into an empty field.
One of the reasons I fell in love with Samana immediately. What a beatiful town, and very clean.
The entire town relies on tourist dollars, so the entire town seems to work at keeping the seafront area clean and safe.
The entire town relies on tourist dollars, so the entire town seems to work at keeping the seafront area clean and safe.
My first year experience was
At Playa Grande, I was wading into the water at the East end when I felt something washing back and forth across my ankles.
Even though the water was nearly clear to the bottom I could not see anything. So I decided to drop down and see what it was.
It was thousands (no exaggeration) of those little plastic cups that are used for Brugal shots; as far as I could see.
After that the garbage seemed to jump out at me.
If Dominicans started now, it would be 20 years before it would be solved. And that is only if the adults force their children to comply. Now how likely is that?
At Playa Grande, I was wading into the water at the East end when I felt something washing back and forth across my ankles.
Even though the water was nearly clear to the bottom I could not see anything. So I decided to drop down and see what it was.
It was thousands (no exaggeration) of those little plastic cups that are used for Brugal shots; as far as I could see.
After that the garbage seemed to jump out at me.
If Dominicans started now, it would be 20 years before it would be solved. And that is only if the adults force their children to comply. Now how likely is that?
judging by what I've read on this site, perhaps the police should be assigned to pick up garbage in their area of resposability, it seems they have enough time to try to bilk the tourists and open to corruption, why not have them serve if they can't protect ?
Along the malecon front in the capital the trash seems to come and go, I,m not sure why or how this occurs but one day you can walk along the malecon and you will see a sea of plastic, 2 days later walk the same length and it has vanished. I'm not convinced it all comes out of santo Domingo though as people dont tend to sit on the waters edge so wouldn't throw the trash in the sea. I think it could be a tidal thing and maybe trucks are dumping off a cliff somewhere up the coast, I dunno, I don't understand tides and all that stuff.
Rats get me going, every day on my way to work I'll find myself stepping over and occasionally in rotten fruit and waste meat dumped on the street for the binmen. It is pure laziness as often there will be a green big bin 10 Mtr away.
I remember the first time I visited la Caleta (boca) to meet some distant family. I couldn't get my head around how they had so much trash in the side of the house and in the garden, plastic bags, rotten fruit remains, disgusting, but it doesn't seem to register this will attract rats and other unwanted pests, besides being just outright filthy.
As far as dead animals on the sides of roads, in the north I noticed where ever there were dead animals they lit a car tyre and burnt it over the dog or cat, apparently gets rid of the smell.
In bavaro very recently the Haitian workers working on s nearby block killed an old horse, they butchered what was eatable and dumped the rest in the gutter on the other side of the road from us, the smell was terrible for about 2 weeks.
Common sense just doesn't exist among many.
Rats get me going, every day on my way to work I'll find myself stepping over and occasionally in rotten fruit and waste meat dumped on the street for the binmen. It is pure laziness as often there will be a green big bin 10 Mtr away.
I remember the first time I visited la Caleta (boca) to meet some distant family. I couldn't get my head around how they had so much trash in the side of the house and in the garden, plastic bags, rotten fruit remains, disgusting, but it doesn't seem to register this will attract rats and other unwanted pests, besides being just outright filthy.
As far as dead animals on the sides of roads, in the north I noticed where ever there were dead animals they lit a car tyre and burnt it over the dog or cat, apparently gets rid of the smell.
In bavaro very recently the Haitian workers working on s nearby block killed an old horse, they butchered what was eatable and dumped the rest in the gutter on the other side of the road from us, the smell was terrible for about 2 weeks.
Common sense just doesn't exist among many.
cops
a couple of weeks ago the cops came to my house and told me that they found my plane ticket floating in the local river.......turns out the guy i was paying to haul the trash away saved himself a little money and dumped everything in the drink....
a couple of weeks ago the cops came to my house and told me that they found my plane ticket floating in the local river.......turns out the guy i was paying to haul the trash away saved himself a little money and dumped everything in the drink....
I can't remember where I saw the picture, but there was a country road in the DR that had tens of thousands of disposable diapers lining either side....absolutely disgusting....
Most Dominicans aren't enviromentally conscious whatsoever....
That's why you don't see much wildlife in the DR...they killed and ate most of the desirable critters long, long ago...........lions and tigers and bears....yum, yum!!!!!!
Most Dominicans aren't enviromentally conscious whatsoever....
That's why you don't see much wildlife in the DR...they killed and ate most of the desirable critters long, long ago...........lions and tigers and bears....yum, yum!!!!!!
Well, thats not limited to the Republic only, most of the world couldn't give 2 hoots about the environment, or preservation.
Back on the chain gang...
Good thought, but make that chain gangs of criminals with police supervision, such as it is.
Good thought, but make that chain gangs of criminals with police supervision, such as it is.
Not an easy undertaking in my experience. To educate requires a want to learn, in my experience the majority of people know it all. Hate being told what to do or how to do it. Not all, but your average Dom doesn't want to learn unless they can profit from it in some way, the only profit most understand is financial gain. Spain is the same, the Spanish have no concept of keeping the country clean, dump truck loads of crap off any cliff, roadside or carpark, cross over to France and it is a different story altogether.
Nobody likes the trash here but few apparently remember how it was in the States 40 years ago or more. I also don't remember particular areas of London and Paris being so clean many years ago either. Funny too is the Europeans have trashed all their rivers a long time ago too.
At any rate the DR is just a few generations behind but from I see what is being promoted now and taught in the schools we can expect big changes in the next generation.
At any rate the DR is just a few generations behind but from I see what is being promoted now and taught in the schools we can expect big changes in the next generation.
Ecology is taught in schools, at least in Jarabacoa, and the mayor organizes Barrio Limpia every month.
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