As you may know, the new recycle collection site behind the primary school opened for business on Sat, Feb 10, (about 2 weeks now). "La Manzanilla Hermosa" started meeting as a group in September, 2018. Of the many projects that were discussed under the umbrella of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, getting a recycling system going again seemed like a logical and feasible place to start.
The opening of the recycle collection site is the first, but not the only steps this group and its supporters hope to roll out over the years. Please note that launching this phase of a recycle program occurred after months of work and meetings with expat volunteers, local parent school groups, local schools, the municipality of La Huerta, consultants from Autlán, the Ejido, the local Delegación representatives and others.
At the beginning of February two engineer officials from La Huerta came to La Manzanilla for several days of assessment and work, and we saw real progress on the recycling effort. In addition to creating this first new collection site during the first 2 weeks of Feb, we laid the groundwork for future curbside collection of recyclables, and the processing of green waste and food scraps.
On the organic stuff, a local farmer who raises pigs has stepped up to collect both an increased amount of food scraps from schools and restaurants, and the coconut residue produced mainly by the beach restaurants. This is great news on several levels: these organic materials make up the bulk of the "trash" pickup and are overtaxing the already struggling garbage trucks, they represent an underutilized resource, and they can hopefully be rerouted to ultimately make highly valuable products - mulch and compost.
The farmer began the coco collection, and, without notifying anyone, dropped a load off at the newly cleared recycle site. The Primaria superintendent, Jose Francisco, called me about it, and I called the officials in La Huerta, (the responsible party). We found out that the pig farmer is in need of an temporary drop off site for his daily pickups of coco, which will regularly be moved to his farm. At this moment we are researching a spot that can be used for this purpose at El Huerto Escolar, the youth garden project of Tierra Alegre.
We are expecting the La Huerta engineers to arrive again next week, when we can hopefully dial this in.
I hope this report answers some questions. We all want to make keeping La Manzanilla Hermosa, Limpia y Sana (Beautiful, Clean & Healthy), as efficient and easy as possible for everyone in this diverse community. Our little group welcomes anyone who can donate a bit of their precious time, or offer constructive suggestions for how keep things moving towards reducing contamination in this semicircle of our Mother Earth!
Thank you for your patience, and for your participation during the start up period! Feel free to contact me by phone should you have further questions, or want to be part of the solution. 351-5047 casa, 315-100-9777 cel
Thank you Lisa & La Manzanilla Hermosa! I am impressed with what you’ve been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Plus, the thoughtful, intelligent way in which you’ve gone about it will surely make your efforts a success.
I’d love to make a monetary donation as I am unable to volunteer this season. Would I give that to you directly, Lisa?
Thank you Jocelyn for this wonderful, encouraging response!
It feels great to be making some progress on these important projects! I am looking forward to building on the alliances we have made to help reduce plastic and other contamination of this beautiful bay. Beyond these small efforts to reduce pollution, I am committed to helping to protect and regenerate this fragile ecosystem through composting, erosion control, education, and planting, planting, planting!