Every single day, millions upon millions of pounds of trash are thrown into the rivers and into the environment, causing these ginormous pileups of garbage that ravage the ecosystem and world. As this problem continues to worsen each day, engineers have been trying to think of a way to slow down the inevitable approach of littered waste. One of the many attempts that have been made to solve this catastrophe was done in this photo from Guatemala.
In the past week, a video from Guatemala has gone viral showing what seemed to be a tsunami of garbage flowing through a river that would inevitably end up into the ocean or furthering damaging their local environment. However, this wall of trash was met face to face with fence determine to stop it in its tracks. The fence having been constructed weeks earlier, stopped a large majority of the trash moving further down the river. There was so much trash it started to bend the steel supports keeping the fence upright, sparking a worry among those who were watching this. However, after a few short seconds, they realized the fence was going nowhere, exciting the workers and making them jump up and down screaming “it’s working!” The video continued to role for a few more minutes, displaying what seemed to be a never-ending supply of trash, showing how effective the fence was at stopping the garbage.
Although this video should make you thrilled that their plans are working, it also shows the disturbing truth of how much waste we throw into our bodies of water and how important it is we come together to form a solution. This fence is a step towards the right direction, its simple and effective and can be built on different parts of the river. But the problem still remains, we must work together to stop throwing garbage into our bodies of water in the first place or creating a material that would quickly biodegrade. By holding each person accountable for their action and spreading more awareness of the problem, we could continue to reduce the amount of garbage in the rivers and oceans and produce a better world to live in. Although there will always be a person who does not want to listen and continues to litter, the constructions of these fences throughout the mouths of rivers can be a great first step in the right direction.
This is such an exciting and shocking piece!!! We truly do throw so much waste on land, especially bodies of water. It makes me happy that we are finding ways to stop this and help clean up. However, it’s quite sad that that much waste has been going into the ocean from just one river. Imagine how much waste goes into the ocean from everywhere. I’m glad you showed me this and even though it’s a small step it is still a step in the right direction!!
To be honest, when I first saw this picture, I didn’t really understand what was going on, but after reading your piece, I don’t know whether or not to be disgusted that our environment has come to this or excited that efforts are being made to fix problems like this. I agree with you that accountability is key to creating a solution, and it really does start with just one person. We can all do better in protecting our planet!
This is really sad to see all this trash piled up destroying the beauty of nature and water. I am always so disappointed in humanity’s treatment of waste, especially when it piles miles high and long in landfills and in oceans. Seeing this fence makes me a little more hopeful for the future, knowing that there are steps being made to clean the world; you are right, however, in that we need to hold important figures accountable.