The No Straw Stupidity

[Chirimoya]

DR is not on the radar for recycling it seems

But any start is better than no start..........

Several recycling initiatives in the DR, some examples:

http://www.puntacana.org/environment/zero-waste

http://culturagreen.com/green-love/

http://www.ecoservices.com.do/dominicana/

The weak link in the process is getting people to separate the waste.

 

[william webster]

I know about the programs Chiri

And agree with the population needing education
The schools are starting , I hear

It took time in other countries too.

Funny, the people who keep your/our property spotless are often the first to drop garbage on our roadways.
I find that odd

 

[the gorgon]

it is cultural....

[video=youtube_share;c2OxdivKZTA]https://youtu.be/c2OxdivKZTA[/video]

 

[DR Solar]

700 million iPhones ...

Remember when it was.... "Save a tree! Use plastic!" We have been using cavass and cloth bags for years. Most of them free from trade shows. A couple are insulated for frozen items. We try to use the metal man to haul off our metal items. Beer bottles recycled. I'm sure that many others do too. We don't use straws.

Some Dominicans do understand the problem and are trying. But the bulk of the country does not have the sanitation trucks or ways to dispose of garbage other then a pit or worse; stream or river.

Could get worse for everyone real fast.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...-ton-trash-problem/ar-AAyVjce?ocid=spartanntp

 

[ExDR]

I totally agree plastic straws surely add to the earth's pollution,however, here so many places who do not wash glasses in hot soapy water. A straw prevents hepatitis and other disease pathogens to be passed on. I have seen some places using stainless steel straws but how are those cleaned? Our zeal to help pollution may cause new health issues more life threatening. There I will get off my soapbox and go properly wash my glasses in hot soapy water.

They are not getting rid of straws, just the plastic straws. The do great harm to sea life. Yeah the rest of the plastic is a huge problem, the other poster said, baby staeps.

 

[JD Jones]

what she said. the longest journey starts with a first step.

You eat an elephant one bite at a time.

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of recycling facilities here on the island for all kinds of materials, and plastic is one of them.

In my neck of the woods, I see trucks loaded 20 ft high with plastic bottles and gallon jugs all the time.

Come up with a way to recycle styro and you'll be rich.

 

[chico bill]

Recently in Cabrera , I get aluminum foil - not styro for my food

Didn't the UK just ban straws ?

The USA is miles behind on this front,
In Ontario plastic grocery bags were discouraged - you need to buy them (5cents) - not free

Recycling is better outside the USA...

DR is not on the radar for recycling it seems

But any start is better than no start..........

UK
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/search.html

Wimbledon, MacDonalds and more

DR "recycles" everything to the gutter or road side. Just take a look at the trash thrown along the road where they park for Sosua Beach. The main tourist draw for the town and the city does not attempt to clean it. You might argue they do on occasion but I can guarantee there is a year's worth of plastic there now.
And while I'm on the subject of the beach parking. Was there a reason for the 12" high curb? Was it just so people couldn't exit the car on the safe (non-traffic side) because you can't open the door now on the right side unless you drive a Hummer or Mux.

 

[william webster]

we shouldn’t confuse a good recycling program with trash ignorance.

Conscious recycling and littering are two different issues.
DR has a littering problem first and foremost.... say I

 

[the gorgon]

we shouldn’t confuse a good recycling program with trash ignorance.

Conscious recycling and littering are two different issues.
DR has a littering problem first and foremost.... say I

and you are right. just look along the Duarte Highway going past La Vega towards Bonao, and it will mystify you how much garbage is strewn along the sides of the road.

 

[Russell]

To be honest, I do not remember there being so many styro-foam food containers in the roadsides in the distant past.
Did they not use non corrugated card stock in the past...??
Furthermore those containers can breed all the terrible diseases carried by mosquitoes... because they hold water!

If there is a Government Official responsible for the ''Environment'' that is , the visual environment ; the job must be thankless.

It all started in the schools , in Canada. I remember my kids coming home and chastising us about not separating the garbage.

Now I am the biggest fan... 4 different bins in my kitchen.

My friends recycling business has earned him several million dollars.... good on him.
Our biggest problem here in Nova Scotia are discarded coffee cups.
And we all know better..... even with $500.oo to $5000.oo fines, depending upon location.

So lets not just pick on RD; this is an ongoing Global Problem.

I hope in September I can post a few pictures of an ocean front house being built in Nova Scotia (PET House). There is a 25 lot sub division dedicated to PET housing project.
It's a start.
Russell

 

[william webster]

I am told that the styrofoam use is newer... not New but newer.
I expect it’s imported and with the US$$ up... it’ll be costly.
Maybe that’s why I see more aluminum foil lately.

They collect and recycle beer bottles and PET bottles... I know that.

 

[drstock]

This thread could be the straw that broke the camel's back. It's just the last straw! Let's take a straw poll on the subject.

 

[cbmitch9]

Outlaw Styrofoam containers would be one first gigantic step.

Styrofoam? Jamas!! I dislike those things with a passion but I don't think that will happen here anytime soon.

 

[Chirimoya]

Styrofoam containers are manufactured locally.

 

[RDKNIGHT]

I'm using a straw ,,, most of the folks that work in the restaurants don't wash their A@@ forget using hot soap water for glasses.... what a joke...