700 lbs of trash, car bumper collected at Laulau Beach clean-up

The Division of Environmental Quality’s monthly clean-up brigade had collected on Saturday an estimated 500 to 700 lbs of trash, including a car’s discarded rear bumper, at Laulau Beach.

After scouring the beach side for two hours, 28 volunteers among them was five-year-old Esther Huh who joined her mother, collected 27 bags of trash.

It was a special DEQ brigade as attorney Elizabeth Barrett Ristroph, an active volunteer, raffled prizes donated by generous businesses.

DEQ spokesperson Reina Camacho told the Saipan Tribune it was a special clean-up brigade because Ristroph, who has shown dedication and commitment to island’s environment conservation, had approached businesses to participate in the program by sponsoring refreshment and snacks for the volunteers.

“There were some prizes to keep the momentum going as a reward for our volunteers today,” Camacho said, as she commended the participating groups—Chacha Oceanview Junior High School and the New Generation Good.

“These trash that we found today again were picnic items, majority. Today we have a lot of old glasses, a lot of plastics, straws for juice containers and a lot of glasses, look like beer bottles… not to mention cigarette butts. Those were the popular items that we picked up today. We found a lot of old batteries too,” Camacho said.

Ristroph said during beach clean-up, they always find Styrofoam plates, plastic forks as well as cigarette butts.

“I have to focus on the strange items of trash found…young girl’s diary, a plastic bag of fat hanging from a tree. No mysteries had been uncovered,” she said.

Ristroph, a law clerk for Judge Juan T. Lizama, noted that it is just unbelievable that it is still happening in the modern era that educated people throw their trash on the beach.

“It is so simple to bring a plastic bag with you, place your trash in there, go somewhere else and prepare to recycle all the cans. It is so unbelievable that people throw the trash away,” she added.

Ristroph, however, expressed appreciation to some businesses that sponsored the clean-up such as Hyatt Regency Saipan, Aqua Resort Hotel, Fiesta Resort & Spa, Hard Rock Café, Java Joe’s Saipan Coffee and Espress Bar, Herman’s Bakery, Saipan Tribune, Country’s Stake House, and other companies.

Last month, DEQ’s monthly clean-up brigade had collected an estimated 800 lbs of trash and discovered an illegal dumpsite at the beach near the Coral Ocean Point.