Santa Marta Deserves Better: Why Trash Keeps Piling Up — and What We Can Actually Do

As a foreigner who fell in love with Santa Marta, it breaks my heart to see this city — Colombia’s oldest, full of culture and natural beauty — drowning in its own trash. How can we pretend everything is fine when we see plastic bags blowing through the streets, trash scattered on the beaches, and garbage tumbling down the mountain slopes into the sea?

It’s easy to point fingers. But what if the problem — and the solution — is more layered than we think? In this blog, I want to break down what I’ve observed as someone who both loves this place and wants to protect it. There are at least four approaches that, if combined, could help Santa Marta become cleaner, healthier, and more livable for everyone.

1. Beach and Underwater Cleanups: Visible, but Not Enough

Let’s start with what many of us are already doing — beach cleanups and underwater collections by scuba divers. These actions are meaningful. They raise awareness, they bring the community together, and they show tourists that we care.

But let’s be honest — we’re collecting only a fraction of what really enters the sea. For every plastic bottle we remove, dozens more are on their way down the rivers, blown from streets, or dumped in ravines. We’re putting a bandage on a wound that keeps getting reopened.

Cleanups are beautiful and important, but they cannot be the main solution. They’re the last step in the chain — when the trash has already escaped the system.

2. Education: Planting Seeds for the Future

Educating the next generation is perhaps the most hopeful strategy. Children who grow up respecting nature are less likely to pollute it. Schools, environmental campaigns, and family conversations can all help create a new culture of care.

But education is a long-term process. It requires consistency, resources, and faith that mentalities can shift — even when we know that cultural habits are deeply ingrained. It’s not easy to change how people treat public space when they’ve never seen a working system of cleanliness and respect.

Still, I believe in the power of stories, of role models, and of showing the younger generation that there’s a better way. This work must continue, but it needs reinforcement from more visible, immediate changes.

If you’d like to participate in educating the younger generation about this issue, come join us at our monthly environmental workshops with the kids from Fénix Football Club and other young people from Taganga. Follow us on Instagram to stay updated — the next one is coming up at the beginning of June 2025.

3. Infrastructure and Government Action: The Missing Piece

Here’s where things get serious. Because honestly, sometimes it’s not even the people’s fault.

I’ve seen so many people pack their trash neatly into bags and take it outside — only to leave it on the ground, because there are no trash cans. Not one of those big public dumpsters in sight. Not even on the main roads leading up the mountains.

And even if the trash is put out responsibly, the dogs rip open the bags. Wind spreads it. Rain pulls it down into the valleys and rivers. It ends up in the sea.

What about the trash trucks? Well, they do come… sometimes. I’ve seen them at 9 PM or even later, causing traffic jams when they should be long done with their routes. Other times, they don’t come at all. There’s no public schedule, no visible route, no communication.

How can a system work if people don’t even know when to expect a trash pickup — or where to leave it?

This isn’t a mystery. It’s a failure of basic city organization. Just like we wouldn’t expect a bus system to work without bus stops or schedules, we can’t expect a trash system to function without containers, routes, and coordination.

Santa Marta needs more — and better — trash infrastructure. Big dumpsters placed strategically. Consistent schedules. New trucks. Better communication. A functioning system that gives people a chance to do the right thing.

Because believe me: most people don’t want to live surrounded by trash. But without infrastructure, even the best intentions fall apart.

4. Lifestyle Shift: Consume Less, Waste Less

This one might not be popular, but it’s deeply powerful. Because when we live simply, we naturally produce less trash.

Think about what creates the most garbage: processed food packaging, soft drinks, chips, cookies, plastic containers. Not fresh fruit. Not rice or beans. Not eggs or vegetables.

And here’s the thing — natural food is not only better for the environment, it’s better for your body too. It may not have the instant satisfaction of a sugary snack, but it gives you real energy, real nutrition, and no trash to deal with.

It’s not always easy, especially in a culture where processed snacks are the norm. But the more we return to simple eating — home-cooked meals, local produce, reusable containers — the more we reduce our impact.

Although I have to add that while using reusable containers when we can is a great alternative to single-use packaging, the reusable container industry has also become a huge business. Many of the appealing, inexpensive containers are made of low-quality plastic that only last a few uses. In the end, they aren’t very functional or durable — and we find ourselves buying and discarding again.

And this mindset applies to everything. Clothes. Electronics. Gadgets. Why are we producing more and more with less and less quality? Why do we keep replacing things that still work? Because the culture tells us we need the newest model, the latest version, the trend everyone else is following.

What if we paused before every purchase and asked:

• Do I really need this?
• Will it add true value to my life?
• What is the environmental cost of this item?

I’m not saying stop buying. I’m saying buy consciously. And that shift can ripple outward.

Final Thoughts: Four Paths, One Goal

This isn’t about blaming anyone. It’s about recognizing that Santa Marta — this magical, messy, beautiful place — deserves better.

So what do we do?

1. We keep cleaning. Because it matters.
2. We keep educating. Because children are the future.
3. We demand infrastructure. Because that’s the foundation.
4. We live more consciously. Because change starts with us.

No one of these paths is enough on its own. But together, they can make a difference.

Santa Marta is about to celebrate 500 years. What better gift than a cleaner, more organized, more conscious city for the next 500?

Let’s start now.

Let’s clean, teach, organize, and rethink how we live.

Because this place — and its people — are worth it.

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Written with love and deep respect for Santa Marta by someone who may not be from here, but who now calls it home.