We see firsthand the impact that plastic has on our sea life and our beaches everyday that we are out on the water. As a research team, we are committed to minimizing our plastic use by avoiding the purchase of items containing or contained in plastic whenever possible. The average plastic bag gets 12 minutes of use before it gets discarded. Our team reuses our plastic bags until they are rendered unusable every time.
Plastic straws and Styrofoam are ubiquitous in our region because they are convenient and affordable. We serve as liaisons between our green partners in Ixtapa and the restaurant owners in Barra de Potosí to source ecofriendly alternatives and hope to support the reduction of plastic and Styrofoam use in Barra de Potosí significantly in the next years.
We used to conduct monthly beach clean ups in our region, but eleven years in, the community has taken the lead and is now conducting regular beach clean ups on its own and taking steps to reduce and eliminate single use plastic in the region.