Whenever I walk the dogs, I try to pick up as much trash as I can along the way. It can be pretty gross and disgusting to carry around, so I look for existing trash piles and try to bury as much as I can underneath fallen coconut leaves.

Today, I remembered to take a bag, and this is what I took back for our gardener to dispose of:

Bag c/o San Fran-based BFF, Alan Montelibano. If I’m not mistaken he brought it back for me from Mexico…

These were the contents of the bag (except for the soil that was already in the wheel barrow):

There isn’t as much trash on the road from our house going towards Union as there is on the other side going towards Malinao/General Luna. Of course, it’s a much shorter stretch and nobody lives there yet, apart from the workers on some of the properties.

The other side used to be pretty much the same, with a few fishermen’s huts scattered along the way but, over the last year or so, more people have moved to our little corner of Siargao. Now, there are sari-sari stores selling soft drinks and junk food, there’s a karaoke joint by the shore, and a sign has just gone up announcing a condominium on the rise.

The increase in population has meant more trash. As far as I can tell, there is no system of trash collection and disposal on the island. It’s strewn all over empty lots and ends up stamped into the ground or woven into the grass.

And then of course there’s the trash that is dumped in the sea from near and far and washes all over our shores.

Everyday that I find trash on the road and on the beach, I lose a little bit of my faith in humanity. It feels like a losing battle and a foolish endeavour. But then I remember that Sesame Street song, “If Every Kid Did It” and tell myself that the reverse of the song should be true as well. If every one picked up after themselves and after others, then maybe one day we can clean up this mess that we’ve made.

Besides, even if no one else did it, every bit of plastic that I pick up means that my surroundings got just a little bit cleaner.