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I Recycle Countrywide and Stopping a Silent Killer

by tacogirl 15/11/2019
written by tacogirl 15/11/2019
Dead batteries at San Pedro Transfer Station

I was long overdue for another recycling and garbage update but got minorly slowed down by other things. A parttime grant writing position fell in my lap helping secure funds for organizations helping people on a low socioeconomic scale in another country. I decided it would be an advantageous thing to learn in case any of my chosen island charities ever need assistance one day. I will eventually start researching potential grants in the garbage and recycling area too. We have been funded in this area before by The Inter-American Development Bank and we could still use a lot more help with our crazy Ambergris Caye garbage situation.

Battery Recycling

The battery recycling process is slowly coming along, there are definitely days when I wonder “what the hell was I thinking” taking this on. Thanks to a little help from my friends those days are few and I keep getting told how important this mission is. With over a year’s worth of collection, they needed to get out of my indoor bodega (laundry room and storage) and be safely packaged for transport. Thanks to Cindy Vigna of the Belize Sailing Center for volunteering her staff, Everal to finish packaging the batteries when it was too windy to have sailors out. Also thanks to my friends Carleen and Jenna who have both helped me with pickups from Harmouche Center, Castillo’s, and SP Hardware.

Beach at Banyan Bay resortarea

My friend Jodie also pro-recycling and waste management wanted to see what the Ambergris Caye transfer station looked like and where it was. We took a drive and dropped off about 130 lbs of the dead household batteries to the hazardous waste section at the transfer station. Emmanuel at the Transfer Station was very helpful and agreed that this was a good thing for everyone.

Countrywide Recycling in Belize

Left side collage below courtesy of Emmanuel on WhatsApp. It shows the batteries leaving the island – a monumental event for me. Thank you to all who contributed to keeping this extremely harmful waste out of their regular garbage. Also to the three hardware stores willing to place 5-quart battery recycling containers in their stores.

Countrywide Recycling in Belize

From here the batteries traveled on a barge and made their way to the sanitary landfill at Mile 24 on the George Price Highway. The facility covers 370 acres, and our batteries ended up at the hazardous waste cell where Emmerson Garcia and his team will soon take over. They will get placed in a blue barrel which will be filled with concrete and disposed of.

In case you are wondering what our waste management system looks like – I took the right-hand pic (above) in 2015 back when our transfer station was all shiny and new. Belize also has transfer stations in Caye Caulker, Belize City, Orange Walk, Corozal, Belmopan, San Ignacio/Santa Elena, Benque Viejo, Belmopan, Stann Creek, and Toledo.

Countrywide Recycling in Belize

When you live in a place without proper recycling it can make you a lot more conscious of finding ways to reuse and curb trash. Many things that get thrown out that most people would not think twice about. The pile in the picture below are all things most people would be likely to toss in the garbage. Since my herbalist, Kim of Kimmers Kreations is in Cayo, and it is guaranteed that address labels and Tropic cargo stickers will end up on my package I save them to reuse. After all, stickers cost money, trees take time to grow and I know Kim is always happy to not have to write the same addresses out again. The product containers get sterilized and used again keeping them out of the ground a while longer.

Tropic Air Cargo stickers

I also do local recycling on Ambergris Caye. All the taller containers go to my friend Cindy who runs The Lunch Box home delivery service. Plastic clamshells get cleaned recycled to my friend Jodie for holiday baking containers.

Belize Recycles plastic

#nosuchthingasgarbage

Inspired by travel and recognizing a need to reduce waste on the island, my friend Lara, owner of 12 Belize decided to take action and get busy saving trash from the trash. She has a few of us saving our garbage so she can turn it into useful items.

I’ve always loved to repurpose things, and when I saw bags made from garbage while on a trip to Portugal, I became obsessed. So now, I make dog food tote bags that are donated to SPAH, laptop cases, wallets, coin purses, and makeup bags out of all sorts of found items – Lara Goldman.

You know what they say, “one mans trash is another man’s treasure”, well now you can get your cool recycled items at 12 Belize.

Recycled bags by 12 Belize Shop

Plarn Projects

Local Ambergris Caye resident Terry Gallagher started a community project here on the island to repurpose plastic bags – Plarn Projects. They take plastic bags and turn them into yarn, hence “plarn”. Then they can be crocheted into doormats, sleeping mats, tote bags, and coasters. They are durable, don’t attract bugs and can be easily cleaned.

Terry purchased the hooks and has solicited volunteers who know how to crochet. She is hoping to get kids involved too. Teaching the importance of recycling and preserving the island are Plarn Project’s main goals.

She is doing a weekly pickup of bags on Fridays, and many businesses on the island are collection sites. Drop your clean, gently used plastic bags to Palapa Bar and Grill, Sandy Toes Beach Bar & Grill, Coco’s Loco Beach Bar, Crocs Sunset Sports Bar, Sandbar San Pedro, Crazy Canucks Beach Bar, Mesa Cafe San Pedro, Iguana Juan’s Restaurant & Bar, Pirates Treasure Restaurant and Bar, and at Carlo & Ernie’s Runway Bar.

The Plarn Project met this aft at Aji Tapas Bar and Restaurant. They are teaching people how to make coasters and doormats. Please note: This is totally not for profit, Terry just wants to give back to the island we call home.

DIY plastic yarn floor mat

Recycle San Pedro Belize

This grassroots operation has bought property in the lagoon side with waterfront for shipping. They are going to start using the ground recycled glass as an aggregate to making brick pavers and blocks here on the island in the next couple of months.

Glass recycling in Belize

San Pedro Green and Clean

On the second and fourth Friday of each month, the folks of San Pedro Green and Clean meet at Stellas Sunset for a short briefing followed by a one hour clean up 8:00 am – 9:00 am. Due to their noticeable efforts, a large donation from Grand Caribe was given of 2 local guys to clean paved roads, twice a month on Sunday. They do a great job of sorting out the plastic recyclables from the trash. This group also saw a need for education and started a Holy Cross school recycling program and accompanying pizza parties which are scheduled to resume next year. Pictures below courtesy of Dawn Kennedy Schick.

Trash Pick up Ambergris Caye

We pick up trash because we love San Pedro, another group that used to post their trashy beach finds also followed the geography of our garbage. They found things from all several countries. Haiti, Barbados, Honduras, St Lucia, Venezuela, and Germany to name a few. The craziest thing was an ice skate – definitely not from Belize.

Stopping A Silent Killer

Diane Klumb who was involved with the eco rangers in DFC area noticed the kids understood that the caps are more dangerous than the bottles. They pointed out, birds can’t eat the bottles. That’s a dead sea bird below. Look at his gut contents, most people have no idea. Caps may look harmless, as far as litter goes – absolutely not true. Fish are at risk too.

Dead bird on Ambergris Caye Belize Beach

There are usually a lot on the beach stuck in the seaweed. they are really bird-killers, and very few people know that. For some reason, birds think plastics are edible, Scientists have been tracking plastic ingestion by seabirds for decades.  The picture above is courtesy of Diane.

Once you start picking them up it’s hard to stop, When she lived on Ambergris, Diane’s pockets were always full. Once while down at the town dock waiting for the ferry, Diane saw there must have been a hundred of them floating in the seagrass right near the shore. On hot days in the summer she used to take the kids to the beach and they’d scoop them out of the seagrass- they thought it was great fun.

Collecting caps and helping stop this silent killer is also the mission of Nayobie’s Hope for Children. All it takes is 1,000 plastic bottle caps and families with children facing cancer granted one chemotherapy session. This initiative is done through the #TapitasxSonrisas system, by Alianza Anticancer in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. So far they have gathered more than 20,000 plastic caps. Thunderbolt Water Taxi Ltd who transported Nayobi along with more than 10 sacks of caps from San Pedro to Corozal. From there, they went by land to Mexico.

Mangrove Garbage

Helping Another Silent Killer

As many of you know I have been helping the Belize Cancer Center in Dangriga with tacogirl flight code (for a cause) – horizon. It works at no extra cost to you and helps many. When you book your flights online, just enter horizon in the Tropic Air promo code area.

Wanting to further help stop this silent killer, I decided it was time to start working with our local San Pedro Cancer Society (SPCS) as well so I reached out to Miguel and asked him for a wish list aside from the permanent place where we can donate blood on the island he gave me a list of items they need to better be able to help those with Cancer on the island.

Please visit my easy donations page, to help both the Cancer Center and Cancer Society. Thanks go to Kristie Settas-Jones and her birthday vacation crew for wanting to help both causes. In addition to using Tropic flight code to help the Belize Cancer Center, they brought needed donations for the San Pedro Cancer Society as well. In addition, Kristie planned a fun scavenger hunt for her crew, and through that fun event, $300 BZD was raised and donated to the SPCS.

A huge thank you to everyone helping such an important cause that is dear to my heart – fighting Cancer. You are truly helping those who need it most as so many cannot afford treatment in Belize.

Left pic courtesy of Lara Goldman, 12 Belize and the right, a group shot courtesy of Josh Nunez, Hurricanes Ceviche Bar and Grill.

San Pedro Cancer Society donations

Related

tacogirl

Laurie Norton grew up dyslexic and was very challenged by the school. She never dreamed she would move to Belize and become a writer. A year after her move to Ambergris Caye, Laurie became an entrepreneur and professional writer starting tacogirl blog in 2007. Since then she has helped many people plan their vacations or move. She also has been published in Great Destinations Belize Guidebook, Moon Guide to Living in Belize, Insight Guides, Island Magazine several times and USA Today. Currently Laurie resides in downtown San Pedro and enjoys being a "city girl" on a tropical island.

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4 comments

Paul Melanson 29/02/2020 - 7:46 pm

I’m picking up plastic caps as I walk the beach. So easy. Everyone should.. I’m staying at Belizean Shores for a month. They have a little bucket to collect them in laundry room.

Reply
tacogirl 02/03/2020 - 9:58 am

Very, Cool Paul, you must be in heaven with a month at Belizean Shores. Thanks for helping keep our island safer from garbage.

Reply
Emily 17/11/2019 - 12:25 pm

So many wonderful programs and people helping with the trash problem on Ambergris Caye! Great job, Laurie. I love those repurposed bags also…so creative!

Reply
tacogirl 17/11/2019 - 6:09 pm

Thanks Emily. I agree, it is great the creativity that coming out of the necessity to reduce our garbage.

Reply

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Laurie was super helpful in providing places to eat, things to do and best yet had ongoing blogs that allowed us to... look back on other places that she pointed out. A fantastic resource for both first time and return visitors of Ambergris Caye!read more
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Fantastic service .I needed to find a place where I could buy a local sim card as my UK sim doesnt work in belize and... Tacogirl put me on the right path .Decided to walk across town and discovered so much more in beautiful San Pedro.Many thanks.BWread more
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We have been using TacoGirl for what feels like decades when planning our trips to Belize! It has only been a few... years but she is the first place we stop to see what is happening in our favorite vacation spot. She knows all the best spots to get away and do so many fun things - whether it is relaxing or exploring! We are planning our next trip with our twins and she was the first person I reached out to. Knowing we have a resource like her, makes trip planning a breeze!read more
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D Zep
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Found tacogirl while doing some research on an upcoming trip to Belize. This is the place for all the information you... need to plan your vacation. Incredibly helpful and responsive. I sent an email with lots of questions and received a very quick and detailed response that helped us finalize our plans.read more
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Kelley Adams
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We have been following TacoGirl for years now and before booking any trip to San Pedro we check to see what is... currently happening. We love the emails to let us know when a new blog has been posted. Keep up the great work Laurie, we feel like we know you.read more
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Pamela Nixon
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I first got my Passport in 2012 and Taco Girl was my first connection back then Great then and Marvelous Now! She's... blossomed and developed into a wonderful contact for any and all information Belize. She goes above & beyond to respond with information that you need whether visiting Belize or relocating! I wasn't able to fund the move then but now that I have much more equity I am doing it.This time she was the 1st person I reached out to! Now I am selling and moving to Belize. She responds immediately! Like I do in my Pet Sitting Business! I was so impressed I followed her all this time. And was not disappointed!Pamela Nixonread more
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Wanted to give a shout-out to tacogirl belize for helping us! She is a plethora of knowledge and was super helpful and... responsive in helping us find longer term stay on the island. Thank you so much for your help!read more
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I've spent the last month exploring Belize. I'm retired & seriously considering moving down to Belize permanently from... the US. I contacted the local San Pedro expert "Taco Girl" to help me get started in finding an apartment to rent. With her help, I've located several places that meet my needs & budget requirements. Thank you Laurie!read more
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Greg Cox
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I am very glad I found you and asked you a question about a spice in Belize. You helped me figure out the name of it... and where i could buy it. You went above and beyond to help. Thanks again.read more
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Katherine Jones
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I am so grateful for the time and energy Laurie has taken to share about her experiences traveling to and living in... Belize as well as provide thorough recommendations for planning a trip there. I was so thankful (and honestly surprised) that Laurie took the time to respond to several of my questions via email. I highly recommend reading Laurie's blogs and helping to support her business. Thank you Laurie!!read more
Greg R
Greg R
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tacogirl was very nice to share her knowledge with us and assisted with planning our trip to Belize; thank you for the... help and info, it was helpful and allowed us to plan utilize our time accordingly while both on the mainland and islands of this great country.read more
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As a Canadian—tired of long winters—I cannot wait to spend some time in Belize. I haven't set foot yet, but I am... yearning for lots of Caribbean adventure. Thanks so much to tacogirl for her endless enthusiasm and generosity of spirit. She is a constant stream of up-to-date information. Her knowledge and love of the area is priceless, and I will need her expertise for future endeavours!read more
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We started coming to Ambergis Caye in 2014 and stumble on to Tacogirls blog, so glad we did! We used her 15% discount... at The Premier Duty-Free shop in the airport! It worked great all we did was let them know we read it on her blog . She has great information awesome pictures, we have tried several places she has recommended, all were amazing. Highly recommend reading her blog. Kathleenread more
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It was my first time visiting Belize and San Pedro so naturally I had a ton of questions when it came time to planning... the travel. Taco Gril's blog was an invaluable source of information for all the travel questions in Ambergris Caye. I was able to learn a lot of basic information, as well as many tips and tricks. In addition when I reached out to Taco Girl for advice on finding a local photographer and a restaurant recommendation, she was very quick to respond and gave me many helpful suggestions. She also provided a lot more information from a local's point of view, which was much for valuable than than a typical guidebook. Thanks to her helpful suggestions we were able to celebrate my daughter's birthday at a nice restaurant, and had a great photo family session with a local photographer. I'm very thankful for all her resources and knowledge.read more
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I started coming to San Pedro Belize in 2007 and that is when I met the online presence of Taco Girl. Her blogs on the... island and area are very personable and informative. She gives out promo codes from time to time so watch out for those. You cannot go wrong with someone who was a tourist and now lives here for quality info. Thanks Taco Girl for helping make my trips memorable!read more
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I take the seniors from our academy to Belize every year for their senior trip. One of the first people I contact when... I start planning the trip is Laurie with TacoGirl Belize. She knows the island of San Pedro better than anyone else out there. Trust me, I have looked. If you are looking for the best restaurants, hang outs and shops then Laurie help plan your vacation.read more
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Love Taco Girl Blog @LaurieNorton!I've been reading this blog since I started visiting Ambergris Caye in Belize almost... 10 years ago. It is filled with helpful up-to-date information and recommendations that I wouldn't necessarily find on my own. Laurie Norton's knowledge and extensive network on the island provides her with the ability to share perks/discounts/coupons with her readers, which come in handy year after year. Things on the island change daily - new businesses pop up constantly and LaurieNortonstays on top of these developments. Whenever I plan my return trip to the island, I always check her blog first - and I recommend you do the same. Trip Advisor ain't got nuttin' on Taco Girl!read more
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Heidi
20:01 20 Feb 20
Laurie's blog is my official “go to” source for tourist and local information on San Pedro. Of course, it’s always nice... to see her guides on “what to do” in San Pedro, but I also appreciate her “insider” advice and human interest stories on what it’s like living as a local on the island. There is so much information it's amazing! Thank you Laurie!!!read more
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I am considering a move to Belize and I have serendipitously found tacogirl.....what a treasure! She is full of great... advice, helpful hints.....knows everybody on Ambergris Caye and has a thousand useful recommendations and suggestions. Whether you are planning a vacation or relocating, you should make use of the many services she has to offer…..read more
KellyDivePhotography
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I’m so pleased to see tacogirl's blog on Google. Laurie's blog is my official “go to” source for tourist and local... information on San Pedro. Of course, it’s always nice to see her guides on “what to do” in San Pedro, but I also appreciate her “insider” advice and human interest stories on what it’s like living as a local on the island. I especially enjoy her guest articles, providing a different perspective of all things San Pedro. Her tipping quide is a classic, and don’t forget her Tropic Air flight code and on-island discounts. You’re not up-to-date with what’s going on in San Pedro if you’re not regularly reading tacogirl's blog.read more
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I have known Laurie (Taco Girl) for several years. She has been a wealth of good information for me in all of my... pursuits in Belize. I highly recommend her for any services you may require.read more
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Do yourself a favor. Read this BEFORE any trip to San Pedro - Ambergris Caye or Belize in general. Not saying “do what... everyone else says”, but Laurie has frank and honest info which will make your stay in country a little more fun, a little more informative, and often at a great cost savings. Best thing: it’s unbiased, honest, and factual. Personal note: thank you for your personal tailored help in answering mine (and my wife’s) questions.read more
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Taco Girl (Laurie) is amazing. She has so much knowledge about Belize and has great connections with many of the... businesses in Belize. Because of her connections she is able to offer many perks and discounts that you wouldn't have been able to find otherwise. She is super responsive and I always go to her for all my travel needs. From golf cart rentals, to spas, to places to eat. She's got the inside scoop on all!read more
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Since 2003, my wife and I have been to Ambergris at least once a year to experience the fantastic diving. About twelve... years ago we me Tacogirl on a blog giving us discounts on golf carts, local airfares, and restaurants. Over the years we have grown a friendship and I look forward to her weekly blogs about he changes on my favorite home away from home. The island changes every year, and she always shows you what to see, do, and eat.read more
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Belize Blog Est. 2007

belize travel specialist

ABOUT ME

I took the plunge and moved to San Pedro Town on the Island of Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize, Central America. Originally from Canada, I made the life-changing move to escape winter for good (in 2006) after one three week vacation. If you have any questions or want Belize help planning and booking, please feel free to contact me.

SPARKING MY DESIRE

A few childhood memories that shaped my desire to move to Belize from a young age. Sailing in the Virgin Islands, seeing a rainbow out the window of an island hopper as we flew from Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico, Christmas in Hawaii and many trips to Florida.

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