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Hi Lisas, unfortunately, that is the attitude of many natives " the GOVENRMENT doesn't do enough"  however it's Never seems to be the government who carries 3 cases of beer onto the beach but LEAVE the empty cans all over the beach with trash cans a few feet away... it's a cultural and societal problem that is not addressed at any level... we have started many local groups with responsable citizens to pick up trash, provide bags, pick up butts,  rescue dogs... it's a long uphill battle.... I was in Loiza last week at the Santiago festival... we were walking with the parade behind the statue... it was VERY hot... a LADY ( I use the term with some sarcasm) was dringing water on the route.. she was obviously from the area since she was greeting people along the route.... when she finished her bottle, she casually tossed it into the bushes off the side of the road... did she think the garbage fairy was going to pick it up????   Should the government send a crew to pick it up???   what can I say.... no brain? no education? no conscience for the surrounding?? Boriqua??? I think I am more Boriqua then she is...... Frustrating as hell for the rest of us!!

I so agree with you, the trash is unbelievable to me! Why does the people of PR allow their country to become so trashed out and what can we do about it? I live in Aguada right on the beach, I am from Texas and I am starting to have major regret as to why I moved here. The beaches could be so beautiful if only people cared. Being right on the beach means I have tons of people right in my front door every weekend, I enjoy their celebrations but hate the mess they leave behind.

Hello Brenda,

I was happy to see that the Royal Isabela private golf club started a conservation trust for the El Pastillo beach which runs from Isabela all the way to Quebradilla.  I think that it is the mind set of the people that just don't get it.  I think that the other post really hit the nail on the head.  It has to start with changing the culture on the island.  There are some groups out there that focus on conservation but the government has to get involved.  There was a time when the government was paying people to bring their old appliances in for scrap metal and they received payment.  Also, there needs to be negative consequences but there is so much corruption.  I find that the beaches are much cleaner in the winter months but once the summer comes all the islanders come to the west part of the island for vacation.  Not sure what we could do and where we could start other than getting the governor to acknowledge the problem and deal with it.

Lisas16 wrote:

Not sure what we could do and where we could start other than getting the governor to acknowledge the problem and deal with it.

That's not going to work. The government can't even get their basic tasks organized and they're not interested in cleaning the place..

If you want to do something that works, start a private initiative.

Good idea, Gary. Years ago, when I vacationed in Orlando with my to-be in-laws, my future mother-in-law said Orlando was "como Puerto Rico pero sin la basura" ("like Puerto Rico but without the trash"). I believe there are plenty of Puerto Ricans who loath the litter and would support an initiative to shame people into compliance.

Unfortunately, I am not on the island full time so I think it would be a great idea to start something.  I would be happy to help in any initiative that gets started.

You don't need to be here full time to start a cleaning party.
Gather some of the people you know in the neighborhood (make sure you include some locals!), buy a big roll of trash bags, announce time and date of the cleaning party and contact somebody from the press ore even better from radio or tv to get the party covered.

Announce the cleaning party with flyers in the area.

Clean a piece of beach for a couple of hours and make sure you get enough photos to send to every newspaper and talk show on radio and tv.

Repeat the next time you're on the island and keep repeating it.

When you have some news coverage, save it all and send it to the mayor or even better, make an appointment with the mayor and show what you and your group did and ask for some assistance.

It will make you feel a lot better than looking at and complaining about all the trash..

Good suggestions, Gary. I'd add some refreshments and finger-food as well after the work is done. That will bring more people out of their houses and make it more of a Puerto Rican-style event.

NomadLawyer- I live in southern Orlando about a mile from Kissimmee. It is definitely little Puerto Rico here, but not without the trash. The trash problem is every bit as bad here as in PR. I see it on the roadsides all the time and people just tossing stuff out of their cars. The difference is, it doesn't stay on the streets long because our tax dollars pay to have litter patrols pick it up and keep the green areas along the roads well maintained. People do their best to mess it up but the city stays on top of it very well. There are a lot of tourist dollars at stake here and the last thing the local and state governments want is for the place to look unsightly with trash all over. You should see my neighborhood on trash pickup day. It's a very nice neighborhood but people just throw their bags of trash out on the lawn or use one garbage can for 3 garbage cans worth of trash. They set it out the night before and in the morning it's all over the place. Then the maintenance people come by and pick up what's left after the garbage truck leaves. It's the same problem, just handled differently here. And you guys are right. The government in PR has no interest in picking up litter.