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Tourists enjoying a day out in the sun, sand and surf of a beach with lunch may soon notice something strange on the beaches in La Paz. Well, more like what’s not on the beaches in La Paz.
There will soon be no trash cans to dispose of the garbage left after enjoying their beach lunch.
La Paz officials recently approved the removal of trash cans from local beaches because they found they actually created more of a mess and headaches on the beaches than the trash that was removed.
Excess Trash Around the Cans
What La Paz beach officials uncovered was there was so much trash disposed of in the trash cans on the beaches that it actually created more of a mess than without the trash cans.
The issue was that beachgoers were overfilling the trash cans on the beaches and when they overflowed, it actually caused a bigger problem with animals, unsightly items and plenty of really bad smells.
Tourists visiting the beaches were actually complaining to local officials and law enforcement that the trash cans simply made the problem worse.
“We are going to remove the containers because it is actually part of the problem. The more garbage cans we put on the beaches, the more garbage will be generated,” said La Paz Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero in a news story about the issue.
The goal is to actually remove all trash from the beaches of La Paz, and that means removing the trash cans. It also means one interesting solution.
Take the Trash Back to the Hotel
To solve the issue of the excess trash on the beaches of La Paz, Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero urged visitors to La Paz to pack up their trash after a day enjoying the sun, sand and surf of local beaches and take it back to their resort or hotel for disposal.
“What we want to encourage is that if someone goes to the beach and ends up with garbage, they take it back and throw it away at their house,” said the mayor in a news story.
In the case of tourists, that means they should carry it from the beach back to the hotel for disposal. It’s something that probably won’t go over well with international visitors to the state capital.
Road Travelers Led to Removal
The issue that led to this problem is truly not the vacation traveler who enjoys a day on the beach and then heads back to their hotel. However, the cans can become full during peak holiday travel periods.
The issue is with the travelers that park their campers and travel trailers near the beach and then dispose of a large amount of accumulated trash and items such as animal waste and baby diapers in the can.
In some cases, even human waste was disposed of in cans on some local beaches.
It was causing a health and safety issue, as well as an environmental concern, on beaches like El Tecolote, where a large number of campers and trailers are often parked.
It was also unsightly and smelled bad for the other visitors who wanted to enjoy the beaches in La Paz.
What Travelers Need to Know
La Paz Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero was quick to point out that there are no rules in place limiting access to beaches by travelers in campers and trailers. In fact, they are allowed to stay as long as they want.
However, the proper disposal of waste that creates health and safety issues is a different case altogether.
While it may be inconvenient, tourists are asked to follow the same guidelines that are used in the nation’s national parks – pack it in, pack it out, and leave no trace.
The same rules are now on the beaches of La Paz. Hopefully, everyone following the rules will lead to overall cleaner beaches and a better experience for all travelers on their vacation getaway.
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Phil
Wednesday 7th of February 2024
Could these totally brain dead morons be any more stupid? There is too much trash around the garbage cans. So, let’s remove the cans. That should make the garbage disappear?
How about removing the trash more often, you dim witted dipsticks.
And further, as a resident of Mexico, it is NOT the tourists that cause the littering problem. It is the Mexicans that always throw their trash away all over the place. Mexican’s don’t give a dam about throwing garage everywhere, including the beaches. I’ve seen it countless of times, personally.
Carnival is coming to La Paz next week. Like unfortunately it does every year. And Mexicans come from all over for it. And when it is over each night, they leave mountains of garbage everywhere on the streets in great piles.
It is the Mexicans, not the foreign visitor’s that have absolutely NO respect for their country.
Mike
Monday 5th of February 2024
Maybe the local Government should simply just remove the trash more often.