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Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

nytimes.com

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Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#11

Post by fein »

dsabanin wrote: post #4

I'm curious. Quotes from the article: -- “It happens pretty much all the time if there is a strong rainfall or a storm,” The phenomenon is not confined to the Dominican Republic, he said, and can be seen in many developing nations with a coastline. “Everybody uses the rivers and the beaches as dump sites.” -- So we're being told that ocean's plastic garbage patch is somehow made out of the contents of landfills aroun…

> developing countries using ocean as a waste dump

I thought this was common knowledge by this point. The most polluted rivers in the world are located in India, China, South America, Africa, and Indonesia.

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#12

Post by ramy_d »

deepvibrations wrote: post #6
pulse7 wrote: post #2

Most probably created in China, used on the West then dumped in the sea...

It says in the article it's from the Ozama river which is a local river that runs into the sea nearby.

I read that in the article, then i checked it on google maps https://goo.gl/maps/pVJeXBUE4Ck . It's still hard to believe so much trash can wind up on a beach through that river. Wait, what does the river look like? Should they just install a shallow net?

It's crazy

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#13

Post by endorphone »

dsabanin wrote: post #4

I'm curious. Quotes from the article: -- “It happens pretty much all the time if there is a strong rainfall or a storm,” The phenomenon is not confined to the Dominican Republic, he said, and can be seen in many developing nations with a coastline. “Everybody uses the rivers and the beaches as dump sites.” -- So we're being told that ocean's plastic garbage patch is somehow made out of the contents of landfills aroun…

Is that landfill claim a bit of a strawman (pardon the pun)? I've seen little to nothing about it being the result of landfills, and everything about it being a result of the culture of disposable plastics. We're all to blame for disposable plastics.

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#14

Post by lisper »

My wife and I were traveling in Borneo a few years back. They have "water villages" there where all the houses are built on stilts in shallow water. You could not see the shore because it was completely covered in a layer of garbage. It was like living on top of a landfill. At first I thought it was garbage thrown out by the villagers, but it's not. It was garbage that washes in on the tide. Every now and then the villagers try to clean it up, only to be overwhelmed by a new batch. We were told that it only takes a few weeks for the garbage to completely cover the shore again. It was heartbreaking.

[UPDATE] Here's a photo: http://www.flownet.com/ron/trips/Borneo/Images/165.jpg

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#15

Post by scarejunba »

dsabanin wrote: post #4

I'm curious. Quotes from the article: -- “It happens pretty much all the time if there is a strong rainfall or a storm,” The phenomenon is not confined to the Dominican Republic, he said, and can be seen in many developing nations with a coastline. “Everybody uses the rivers and the beaches as dump sites.” -- So we're being told that ocean's plastic garbage patch is somehow made out of the contents of landfills aroun…

You’re being told explicitly that “the garbage comes from the Ozama river that flows into the ocean near the beach”. That’s literally on the page. And then you’re being told that “[in many developing nations with a coastline], everyone uses the rivers and beaches as dump sites”.

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#16

Post by toast_coder »

pulse7 wrote: post #2

Most probably created in China, used on the West then dumped in the sea...

In the 'west' or more specifically in the United States dump trash in rivers or in the ocean is hight legal and hight risky. You would very likely be caught if you did it with any frequency.

It gets old blaming America for problems America doesnt cause, and diminishes all of your future blame America comments.

Also, read the article...

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#17

Post by gfo »

throwaway427 wrote: post #10
dsabanin wrote: post #4

I'm curious. Quotes from the article: -- “It happens pretty much all the time if there is a strong rainfall or a storm,” The phenomenon is not confined to the Dominican Republic, he said, and can be seen in many developing nations with a coastline. “Everybody uses the rivers and the beaches as dump sites.” -- So we're being told that ocean's plastic garbage patch is somehow made out of the contents of landfills aroun…

God forbid I use a straw, though.

Explain the inconvenience you're experiencing because you can't get a straw?

It's a step forward, a small one at that, but it's progress. I don't understand those complaining - they usually fall back to people with disabilities, and yet establishments will still have straws on-hand for those folks.

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#18

Post by notadoc »

And nearly every other beach in the world. The amount of trash on shorelines, floating around, embedded in reef, etc is staggering.

The next time you're on vacation in the Caribbean, SE Asia, or South Pacific, wake up extra early and head out to the shoreline before any clean-up crews arrive to rake up the garbage (and seaweed). Or just visit an unmaintained beach away from resorts where tides work in favor of the garbage coming ashore and where the trash is never picked up. The oceans (and rivers which flow into them) are treated like a giant garbage dump in most of the world, and it shows.

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#19

Post by gfo »

mc32 wrote: post #9
dsabanin wrote: post #4

I'm curious. Quotes from the article: -- “It happens pretty much all the time if there is a strong rainfall or a storm,” The phenomenon is not confined to the Dominican Republic, he said, and can be seen in many developing nations with a coastline. “Everybody uses the rivers and the beaches as dump sites.” -- So we're being told that ocean's plastic garbage patch is somehow made out of the contents of landfills aroun…

There was a recent study which has been circulating. Most (90%) of the plastics in the ocean that are not related to fishing equipment come from 8 rivers in Asia and then the Nile and Niger rivers in Africa. Mostly due to poor or unregulated waste disposal infrastructures.

Can you link the study? Why do they believe that's the case? Is it just the lack of a waste disposal infrastructure?

Re: Wave After Wave of Garbage Hits the Dominican Republic

#20

Post by wavesounds »

ramy_d wrote: post #12
deepvibrations wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It says in the article it's from the Ozama river which is a local river that runs into the sea nearby.

I read that in the article, then i checked it on google maps https://goo.gl/maps/pVJeXBUE4Ck . It's still hard to believe so much trash can wind up on a beach through that river. Wait, what does the river look like? Should they just install a shallow net? It's crazy

They should stop dumping trash in the river
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