Littering & Environmental Education

Keith R

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Re: I am too busy correcting papers to see this come up!

Hillbilly said:
Another issue. I was raised on DON'T BE A LITTERBUG!!

Can anyone com up with something similiar for the DR??

HB

HB,
high on my list of issues to throw out was that. Or, rather, put another way:

How best to educate Dominicans, particularly the DR's young, in environmental issues such as stopping litter, the rational use of water, proper disposal of hazardous products and materials, etc.?
 

mkohn

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How would you translate into Spanish
DON'T BE A LITTERBUG with all of its nuances pertinent to life in the DR?
mk

Sounds like a great environmental campain against littering.
 

Keith R

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mkohn said:
How would you translate into Spanish
DON'T BE A LITTERBUG with all of its nuances pertinent to life in the DR?
mk

Sounds like a great environmental campain against littering.
Well, this is how one campaign is trying it currently in Mexico...
nmPostersCiudad.jpg

The interesting thing about this one is that it was designed, launched & funded by a private consortium that is investing in recycling PET bottlesw.

Here is an example of a poster from pretty decent local anti-litter campaign in Mexico:
limpia1.jpg
 
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It all starts

with education, that where the environmental issues must start. Right in the schools with the young children. Schools should institute programs on litter collection and recycling at the grass roots and perhaps it will get carried home with them.

One thing in this world that cannot be legislated is intelligence.
 

Larry

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Mar 22, 2002
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Hlywud

If a child is taught in school not to litter and then goes home to witness Mami and Papi and Tio and whoever commiting those very same acts, what is the likelihood that the he/she will do any different?

There has to be some kind of incentive given or punishment levied. Otherwise, poor habits are just passed on from one generation to the next.

Larry
 

Keith R

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Re: Hlywud

Larry (ILoveDR) said:
If a child is taught in school not to litter and then goes home to witness Mami and Papi and Tio and whoever commiting those very same acts, what is the likelihood that the he/she will do any different?

There has to be some kind of incentive given or punishment levied. Otherwise, poor habits are just passed on from one generation to the next.

Larry
Actually, Larry, I read some time ago (another article I need to dig up! :confused: ) about some litter/waste/recycling education programs here in the U.S. which were successful not only in getting the kids psyched about combatting litter and participating in recycling, but also in convincing (in many cases, outright shaming) the parents into doing likewise. Could this work in the DR/ Not sure. But don't underestimate the power of parents wanting to set a good example in the eyes of their kids when they are made aware they might be slipping in the kid's estimation....
 

Chirimoya

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I have been involved in environmental education elsewhere and seen the changes over a relatively short span of time: people can change, there is always hope. It is immensely rewarding.

The most effective work is done through schools but there are other ways of reaching kids. The idea is that the children can influence their parents.

I was dismayed to see a school group visiting the Zona Colonial and the children were chucking their disposable cups and crisp packets under the noses of their teachers. Not wanting to be the complaining foreigner I kept my mouth shut, but felt like telling the teachers that they had failed in their task as educators.

I would love to be part of any campaign to promote environmental responsibility, and an anti litter campaign although it may sound trivial, in relation to the really big pollution issues, it is a great starting point because the results are so tangible. Not just the reward of a cleaner environment, but the realisation that individuals can make a difference.

I'll let you into a secret. I do have a teeny weeny axe to grind here. I was taken on by the environment ministry a year ago to help design a major environmental awareness campaign. It did not get past the initial proposal stage and I was later told that the money intended for the campaign, which had come from a foreign donor organisation, was being diverted to another use. As this is hearsay I will not post it on the forum but if anyone wants to hear where I was told the money did go instead, you are welcome to PM me.

Maybe we here could put this right and do something through DR1 which would reach a wider audience? After all, we are mainly preaching to the converted here.

I am going to have a think about this and urge you all to do so too.

Chiri
 

Keith R

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Thanks, Chiri

Excellent post, as usual.

BTW, did the donor realize that the funds had been diverted? And if so, did they care?

I for one would love to participate in an environmental education campaign, especially one targeted at litter. I tried to interest some government folks in one when I lived in SD in 1999, but no go...

As I frequently remind people, when I was a kid in the 1960s (boy, that dates me! :confused: ) litter was a huge problem in the "educated" U.S. It took the Advertising Council, supported by private biz & PR/media donating time & talents, the ad with the Indian with a tear in his eyes and many years of concerted beating the anti-litter message into people's heads before the US became the relatively "clean" place it is now.

So I suspect we can do it in the DR too, with some careful crafting of the message & steady, constant pushing of the message over time in many fora.

Chiri, in designing your proposal, did you contact Educa? They used to do some good work.
http://www.educa.org.do/

If you were to recommend a private party to spearhead such a campaign, which NGO might it be? Or do we need to consider a new one?

I know a company or two that might interested in sponsoring an anti-litter campaign if they feel it is not just throwing money away (i.e., an effective, visible, long-haul campaign, not just a one-off for show, soon forgotten). Maybe we can persuade E Leon Jimenez (bottlers of Presidente & Coke), Brugal (http://www.brugal.com.do/), Barcelo (http://www.barcelo.com.do/), McDonalds, Carrefour (which does it in Brazil and Argentina) and Asonahoras (http://www.asonahores.com/) to get involved....
 
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Chirimoya

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Re: Thanks, Chiri

Keith R said:
BTW, did the donor realize that the funds had been diverted? And if so, did they care?

I don't know. If they are unaware that this happened, they should shoulder most of blame because it means they are not monitoring their donations. I won't apply it to this case in particular, but it goes to show how easy it is for donor money to end up funding corruption.

On a brighter note there are some Dominican NGOs doing localised work on the subject, not sure if this is absolutely up to date but the European Union were funding community waste collection (and recycling) work in SD barrios through Centro Juan Montalvo and the organisation I worked for funded a group called CEDECO which worked with SD barrio groups on cleaning up the community, lobbying the authorities while promoting community participation.

On the piece of work I did, schools' work was outside my remit because it would have come under the Education Ministry, not the Environment, although my plan was to persuade the person who contracted me to reconsider that, and before we got to that stage the whole thing was scrapped, so we did not get as far as contacting Educa.

If the government won't rise to the challenge, and they won't, it being so close to election time, the only answer is to go the business route, as you suggest. The idea of starting a new campaign from scratch is daunting, and the NGOs I know have other priorities. The national environmental groups in my perception are more wildlife/forestry focused. If there is a group willing to take on the challenge of urban environmental awareness issues, not just denouncing but proposing solutions, it would be good to know about them.

Chiri
 

Keith R

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Jwb said:
I hope this forum offers solutions to the terrible littering problem that I observed on my last visit. Beer bottles and plastic containers were all over the side of the roads, how disgusting!

I have sometimes wondered if the "adopt a road" program now so prevalent in the US would work in the DR. Find a local business, such as a hotel or supermarket or rum company -- or even a local branch of one of the political parties, what the heck! -- that adopts part of a highway and arrange to keep it cleaned up.

Anybody think it could work? Maybe start with the North Coast highway between PP and Cabarete, and the highway between Las Americas airport and Juan Dolio to the east and to SD to the west?

Regards,
Keith
 

linamia

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Re: Hlywud

Larry (ILoveDR) said:
If a child is taught in school not to litter and then goes home to witness Mami and Papi and Tio and whoever commiting those very same acts, what is the likelihood that the he/she will do any different?

There has to be some kind of incentive given or punishment levied. Otherwise, poor habits are just passed on from one generation to the next.

Larry


Larry I agree with you, bad habits are easily passed from generation to gernerations, so are good habits.

Teaching kids not to litter starts with the parent. I have done it sucessfully to Dominican children. At times making them pick up whatever was improperly discarded.
 
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Keith R

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Lina, don't you think it can go both ways? Kids sometimes can influence the thinking behavior of their parents. I certainly know that the twins have often made me think about why I do what I do, why I think what I think, and what sort of example I set vs. the one I should set.:confused:

Best Regards,
Keith
 

Jwb

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Excellent thread

I'm under the impression that most of the people who litter the streets are from the lower economic scale (dont stone me yet). I say that because from my observations most of the trash that I saw were empty Presidente bottles, used canned goods and styrofoam/polystyrene food containers.

I cant imagine the well to do Dominican drinking a bottle of beer and then throwing it out in front of his expensive home. I cant imagine the professionaly employed Dominican eating lunch out one of those styrofoam containers and then discard it in front of his place of employment. I can, however see a motoconcho driver doing exactly those things. I have personaly visited people were we have sat in there yard drinked a couple of beers plus ate food we ordered from the local colmado down the street, when it came time to leave, guess where it all ended up. You guessed it, right in the bushes or at the other neighbors yard.

I think the idea of teaching children the importance of discarding trash in receptacles is great, but you add monetary incentives to it the adults will happily come aboard. For that reason I believe if the bottling companies had a 1 peso bottle return policy, you would see an immediate improvement along the road sides.
 

Chirimoya

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It's my experience that richer people also litter, probably because they feel they are above the law, and have grown up having someone to clean up after them. Not just here, BTW.

Chiri
 

stan chapman

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It's my experience that richer people also litter

Amen to that, Chiri. Anyone see the playa at Las Galeras after semana santa? By the way, the problem is not unique to the DR. What does Loch Lomond side & the area around our local high school have in common? The friends of the earth generation tossing litter everywhere!!! There, I feel much better now. Stan.
 

Jwb

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It's my experience that richer people also litter

Littering is a collective problem in the DR. There is plenty of blame to go around. But what I was commenting on is the fact that certain principles begin in the home. Anyone who litters carefree in his own backyard, will probably do the same at public places.
 

Chirimoya

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Yes, but there are also many people, rich, poor and in between who live in spotless houses but don't think twice about dropping litter.

Chiri