Ah, the sweet sound of crashing waves, squawking gulls and the soft crunch of a Styrofoam cooler lid being ripped from its base by a light coastal breeze.
Paradise can be a place where your vacation trash comes to retire.
Let’s be honest. You’ve probably thought about it and maybe even said it aloud while chucking an empty water bottle into a trash can: “What does it matter? I’m only one person, and it’s my vacation anyway.”
Yes, you are. And you know what? So is every other person who said the same thing right before tossing their unrecycled soda can, plastic bag or fishing line into the nearest mangrove, rock ledge or ocean breeze. When 8 billion of those “I’m only one person” decide their waste doesn’t matter, we get floating islands of garbage, choking sea turtles and more microplastics than plankton in our oceans.
And if a recycling bin isn’t immediately visible, your car has cupholders for eight but seats for five — you could bring your trash with you until you find the proper bin.
Remember when seat belts were annoying? They wrinkled your shirt, pinched your gut and made it hard to reach the radio dial. But we adapted, didn’t we? Now, we instinctively “click it” before reversing out of the driveway. Waste reduction is the same — it starts as a hassle and becomes a habit.
For those on vacation, you’re visiting someone else’s home. This charming seaside island you’re visiting is not a rental car with unlimited miles — it’s an ecosystem teetering on the edge of collapse. That “inconvenient” broken umbrella you left next to the overflowing trash barrel? It’s now airborne and en route to the nearest dolphin nursery.
And that chum box you crammed half-shut with old tackle is leaking a symphony of stink into the sand, ready to turn your last fishing line into a pelican’s next medical emergency.
Many of us in the Keys rely on tourism to make a living. We want you to come, enjoy, relax and maybe even fall in love with our corner of paradise. But love is a two-way street. It means respecting the place you’re visiting enough to leave it better — or at least not worse — than you found it.
It’s not about shaming. It’s about setting a standard. Locals, businesses and community leaders all share the responsibility of modeling good stewardship. This involves providing access to proper waste and recycling receptacles, educating visitors and setting an example. If you’re a resident reading this, ask yourself: Are you doing everything you can to make waste diversion as normal as buckling your seatbelt?
As the busy season approaches, let’s be clear: We welcome visitors. But we also expect them to treat this place like more than just a backdrop for Instagram photos.
Let’s show them what it means to care for the environment — one water bottle, one fishing line and one trash bin at a time. Because while you may not be alive when the worst of the consequences rolls ashore, your choices today are writing tomorrow’s headlines..
As a resident, take the time to greet visitors and offer some information about the area and the delicate environment. Demonstrate stewardship by picking up trash and choosing reusable shopping bags and water bottles.
And to that, we say: Welcome to paradise. Don’t trash it.
