Editors Note: June 2016

Many comments have been directed towards me about the trash situation on the islands. So many have brought it up that I find it necessary to respond, so I’ll weigh in here.

Some of the comments I am addressing were negative, but first I’d like to acknowledge the many positive comments regarding the cleanliness of Bocas del Toro. Some were in a recent interview with Elisa, a tourist visiting from Vancouver Island and I have also received many other positive comments from long time residents of Bocas who believe that the town’s garbage collection has improved over the years.

I have always recognized that the disposal of trash on a bunch of small islands has to be, without exception, an extremely complicated production. Factor in rapid tourism growth, an increase of full-time foreign residents and imagine exactly how many 1.5 liter Coca Cola bottles and Dorito bags were on the island in the year 1989.

Cleaning up this island is a hard job. I don’t think it’s right to point fingers unless your pointing at solutions. It seems like almost every day there is a new step in the right direction. Bottles can donated to the Plastic Bottle Village (see May’s edition of the Bocas Breeze on-line), cans can be recycled if put in the right hands (something for the Breeze to investigate), beach clean-ups are happening and I see more and more people bringing their own bags to the store to avoid using plastic bags.

I would like to thank Jerry Anders for sending me his video he made in Bastimentos about how plastic bags can be made into ropes. You can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPg0GYS-A3U  More on that soon.

Any other productive suggestions like these are very much encouraged: editor@thebocasbreeze.com.  Thanks for reading and thank you for your interest in the Bocas Breeze!