Who Keeps Trashing My Island????

[drbill]

Here on Catalina we are charged the State redemption fee on recyclable cans and bottles... but have no place on island to redeem them. Very strange IMHO. Fortunately the municipal waste contractor sorts out all recyclables and reusable waste on a large conveyor belt at the landfill.

Of course that only takes care of trash that gets deposited in trash cans. I've filmed trash accumulating in a fenced off construction site (people throw it over the fence as they walk by... grr) and plastic bags floating in the breeze, as well as trash in the water. One time I found a plastic bag full of trash on the bottom, obviously dropped there by a yachter!

 

[scubaskipper]

When I worked in the islands, I was amazed that the same people that would talk about how disrespectful the off islanders were would leave their fishing trash to blow all over. The most popular points to fish off of were covered in trash both above and below the water. I would hear talk about the old ways, if they knew what would happen to those that did such things, they wouldn't pine for the old days! I always got a kick out of the fisherman that use garbage bags as kites to get farther out to sea with the line. If I let a garbage bag blow off the boat, you can bet I'd be in a world of hurt. Apparently two standards for disrespect.