| “We want to change the behaviors and attitudes of people, and we’re getting a positive response.” | |
| Sam Sablan, Mariana Islands Nature Alliance (MINA) | |
Mention marine debris and many people think of thousand-pound fishing nets and other derelict fishing gear. For Saipan, the largest island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), marine debris also results from island residents and visitors who drop cigarette butts, pull tabs, plastic bottle caps, and juice boxes on the ground.
“This type of debris is not only unsightly, it poses a risk to marine life from toxicity, entanglement, and smothering from its ingestion,” says Kathy Yuknavage, marine debris project manager for the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance (MINA). “Saipan’s rich reefs and habitats are at risk from land-based sources of marine debris polluting the surrounding waters.”
To prevent land-based trash from becoming marine debris, MINA has installed mixed waste and recycling bins at public beaches, began the island’s first recycling program, and is conducting an outreach program based on social marketing concepts.
“We want to change the behaviors and attitudes of people, and we’re getting a positive response,” says Sam Sablan, MINA executive director.
Proper Disposal
While beach cleanups are held regularly on Saipan, MINA staff members realized that more needed to be done.
“There’s not a lot of money for curbside trash pickup,” Yuknavage explains. “It’s hard to raise taxes in order to add this element. There were also no trash cans at beaches, or if there were, they weren’t emptied regularly, so trash would spill out and blow into the water.”
She adds, “The reason there is so much litter on the ground is that people didn’t have convenient receptacles. We realized that proper waste disposal needed to be addressed.”
MINA received a grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program to begin its marine debris initiative.
Exceeding Goals
At the beginning of April, MINA met its initial goal to have local sponsors “adopt” bins at seven popular beaches. The bins allow beachgoers to separate their trash from recyclable material. Trash is collected once a week, and recyclable materials are shipped off-island.
“The program has been a wild success,” says Yuknavage. By the end of August, a total of 17 bins had been adopted.
“We had to stop at 17,” she says. “We want to continue this program for years, and we didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew.”
Since the bins have been in place, 7.9 metric tons of potential marine debris has been collected, and 42 percent of the waste has been recycled, says Yuknavage.
Adoption Process
Businesses and organizations that adopt a bin pay a $1,000 annual adoption fee, which pays for trash-hauling services, and they pledge to conduct at least two beach cleanups at the site.
In return, the adopters’ logos are displayed on their bins. “We don’t have billboards on the islands, and these are big recycling bins that they get to put their logos on,” Yuknavage says.
Adopters will also be recognized in a documentary that MINA is filming about the program, which they hope to show at the upcoming 25th U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting.
Measuring Awareness
With the waste and recycling bins in place, MINA staff members worked to create a social marketing campaign that encourages people to put litter in its new place.
Pre-campaign surveys were conducted to determine how much people knew about the island’s marine debris problem—its causes, impacts, and solutions. Post-campaign surveys will be conducted in December.
“We found that people were already knowledgeable about the problem, so we weren’t going to change their awareness,” Yuknavage says. Instead, all of MINA’s outreach efforts focus on changing people’s behavior.
Getting People to Act
To promote the use of the bins and proper waste disposal, MINA volunteers are giving presentations at schools and are manning booths at island markets. Public service announcements are running at the airport, movie theatre, television station, and a local radio station.
Next year, MINA is hoping to be able to provide a stipend for volunteers “who actually go to beaches, pass out garbage bags, and point out where the bins are, as well as take visual observational data to see how many people are using the bins,” Yuknavage says.
Litter Patrol
The most successful element of the outreach effort has been “deputizing” students to be part of the Litter Patrol.
Elementary students attending classroom presentations on marine debris prevention are asked to recite a pledge, commit to showing family, friends, and neighbors how to recycle, and wear a badge while performing their pledged duties.
Litter Patrol duties include setting up recycling stations at home and during family picnics and other social gatherings.
So far, 311 elementary children have been deputized as Litter Patrol officers. “The badges do work,” Yuknavage says. “It’s hard to ignore when your child is setting up places for recycling and is telling you what should go where.”
Expanding Program
An unexpected benefit of the program, Sablan says, is that a village public works department is considering a mobile transfer station to expand recycling efforts to other areas of the island.
Other islands in the CNMI chain are also expressing interest in creating recycling programs, and MINA is working with the island legislature to establish necessary infrastructure.
“People generally want to do the right thing, and people are getting used to the idea of recycling.” Yuknavage says.
She adds, “This project has been a good start, and we feel good about the possibility of it expanding.”
For more information on MINA’s Adopt-a-Bin program, go to www.minapacific.org and view the Goals and Projects page. You may also contact Kathy Yuknavage at kathyjuk@gmail.com, or Sam Sablan at sablansam@gmail.com. For more information on marine debris, go to http://marinedebris.noaa.gov.
