Beaches in the Dominican Republic flooded by hundreds of tonnes of garbage. "Get ready for the end of plastics" said the minister

Instead of an idyllic view of the Caribbean coast, hundreds of tons of plastic were brought by waves on the coast in the Dominican Republic. More than five hundred people have been involved in cleaning up in Santo Domingo: environmental groups, navy and local authorities. There are more and more garbage every day.

Hundreds of tonnes of garbage have reached the beaches of the popular Santo Domingo promenade after storms and massive rainfall have lifted the level of the Ozama River flowing through the city. According to Mayor David Collad, the city's lifting bridge is rather opened because of fear that the elevated river level would damage it. That's why garbage from some of the city's districts came to the beach.

"It was not us who raised the bridge, the garbage is not only from our city but from the metropolitan area of ​​Santo Domingo," complained Collado local. The metropolitan area of ​​Santo Domingo has about 3.5 million inhabitants.

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More than five hundred people, including the navy, local residents and representatives of the Parley ecological organization, are helping to clean it up and fight against pollution of the oceans and seas. "It's already the sixth day of cleaning and we have counted about sixty tonnes of waste," one of Rafael Antonio Carrasco's soldiers said.

Also the Dominican Minister of the Environment Ángel Estévez who visited this place has to say his words to this unusual situation. "We have to change the approach to waste management so we do not drown in garbage," the minister said. "I send this message amongst other things to entrepreneurs - prepare for the day we stop using plastics in the Dominican Republic," Estévez said.

The beaches in Santo Domingo are not suitable for bathing, but they are a favorite spot for both locals and tourists. Tourism is the main source of income for the Dominican Republic, and roughly eight percent of gross domestic product last year.

The problem with garbage has not only been solving by the Dominican Republic - plastic garbage pollute the seas and oceans around the world. According to ecologists, about 5 trillion pieces of plastics weighing over 250,000 tons float in them. Since the end of April, the Philippine island of Boracay has been closed to tourists because of the polluted sea for tourists, building sewerage and sanitation.