Tackling Belize’s Pollution Problem Through Technology
As the topic of conservation continues to gain relevancy throughout Belize, an increasing number of organizations are looking for alternative solutions to the unique challenges we face on a daily basis. Over the past few months, several organizations have partnered up to get youths involved in a data-forward waste management initiative. The Plastic Tide Turners Challenge is a global youth movement created to combat plastic pollution through raising awareness and taking action within their communities. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon visited Wesley Junior College where students used the Trash Blitz app to clean up their campus. Here’s the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Today at Wesley Junior College a Trash Blitz was held by students, the Sea of Life Organization, the Department of the Environment and Oceana. It is a waste audit carried out through the use of Trash Blitz app. It originated in the United States, but was implemented in Belize through the Sea Of Life Organization.
Paulita Bennett-Martin
Paulita Bennett-Martin, Acting Programs Director, SOL
“So the Trash Blitz app is a global app that groups are using across the world to catalog the waste trends in their communities. So they’re looking at what types of items are in the waste stream. They’re looking at the materials. Is it plastic? Is it metal? They’re also looking at the brands because a lot of people want help, they need assistance, accountability from the companies that are producing a lot of the waste. And so that’s what we’re looking at is a comprehensive story of what’s the problem. Who’s creating the problem and how can we create some change?”
The app works by creating campaigns specific to the country it is being implemented in. Relevant Belizean brands are uploaded on the app and the names of the schools that participate in the cleanups. The organizations have partnered with several schools in Corozal, and plan to take the initiative across the country. Tyrone Harris, Head of the science department at Wesley College spoke with us about the positive impacts of the event thus far.
Tyrone Harris
Tyrone Harris, Department of Science, Wesley Junior College
“This project came to Wesley College by collaborating with Sea of Life, also Oceana, and we had major concerns about conservation of the environment and not just only ecosystems, but also the environment that is around us as we currently live day by day, coming to school and coming to work as well. They are very motivated and they are very aware of the different types of waste products that can have negative effect on our environment and how is it that they can develop solutions as to how they can fix this problem.”
We spoke with a student participating in the cleanup to hear how she has benefited from the implementation of the app.
Fourth Form Student
Fourth Form Student, Wesley College
“I have learned that we are using way too many plastics and it’s most of the plastics that we can replace, like water bottles, we can easily bring our own water bottle and reuse it, and like cutlery, like forks and spoons, we can easily use iron spoons that are reusable.”
The data indicated that plastic bags and bottles were the most common repeat offenders in the pollution trends. Bennett-Martin noted that over two thousand, four hundred pieces of waste were hauled recently, in just two and a half hours at CEMJC and that there is a need to move away from single-use plastic in Belize.
Paulita Bennett-Martin
“This is our first session doing it our first month doing it but what we’d like to do is find schools that want to do it twice a year so that we could look at patterns over time. The other thing that we’re trying to do is raise money to get refillable water stations on school campuses. So we just secured funding to get refillable water for Wesley Junior College. And we think that’s going to have a huge impact on the amount of single use plastics that we’re counting in these audits.”
Britney Gordon for News Five.
