Thursday, October 20, 2011

Mr. Sabu Beach. What do I have to do with it?



This is the beach of Mr. Sabu:



This is a small bay in the heart of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. Continuously, tons of garbage such as fishing boats wrecks, plastics, old tires, etc., arrive floating in this place.



After the Second World War, thousands of ships and other war equipment were abandoned in almost all Pacific islands.
Later, the fishing industry continued to use paradise islands to  dump their remainings.

Today, even computer housings are arriving in Mr Sabu's beach.



We asked the Honiara City Council if they could clean the place,  but we were informed that  Mr. Sabu should take care of trash landing on his beach. The answer was something like "this is the law" and " there is no recycling of plastic or tires in the country"!



There is Mr. Sabu. He confessed that in the first years, he tried to keep the beach clean. But...

He's got tired.
Indeed, almost none of these debris were produced in the Solomon Islands. The companies that had explored the business of plastics, bottles, cosmetics, tires, fishing, etc, had systematically abandoned  their "legacies" here after secured their profits selling the products.

Mr. Sabu never had a car, do not buy bottled water, but always lived in this small beach that bears his name. The city of Honiara grew. Himself and another two families are now squeezed between the promenade and the shore, which now has tons of garbage. Again, among these spoils, very little was produced in the Solomon Islands.
The marine life in this place no longer exists. The beauty of the "Sabu's Beach" is completely obscured by the dirt. The health of families living there is compromised. Traditional knowledge, fishing, contemplation of nature; all this had disappeared.
The causes are plural. But I see that  the corporations that sell these products - tires, plastics, ships, etc. - are running their businesses without any concern on life cycle. Bridgestone* - and all other tire manufacturers - haven't  done enough to prevent the end of their products to be like that, as in the photo. I personally shoot it.



* BRIDGESTONE Tires at the beach of your Sabu. He never had a car.
Packaging manufacturers and beverage bottlers act in the same way. Consumers of all these products - many times are ourselves - do not enjoy any better reputation. Something is very wrong in our societies.



This Mr. Sabu does not consume any bottled water. Maybe one shampoo every two years. He does not even buys chlorinated water...
Well, what each one of us has to do with it?
We could consider these questions:
Does the Company I work for is indeed taking care for their products till the end of the life cycle?
When the tire of my car is worn out, do I make sure it is going to be properly recycled or, quietly, I'd be happy to let "Mr. Hole" to kindly dispose it next to Forgotten creek?
As always, your reviews, comments and criticisms are very welcome.

2 comments:

  1. This is really sad.. I have no words for this..

    Could you please tell me if they recycle anything on that island? Do they have a landfill or they burn the garbage?

    Thank you,
    Ana

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    Replies
    1. Dear Ana, as far as we could get, the garbage of most Islands in Solomon's are either disposed in landfills AND burned, when it not just "left" to the sea to take care... Thus, we believe the best action we can take is to recognize the root causes rather than find remedies. That means drastically reduce the use of plastic and all kind of disposables. I can tell by my own experience it is feasible and - believe me - pleasant!
      Thanks a lot for your comment!

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