Mexico Scouts keeping waters free from plastic waste

Greater Mexico City, a megalopolis with over 22 million residents, produces almost 13,000 tonnes of garbage every day. Despite a ban on single-use plastics in 2020, implementation was slowed by the global COVID-19 pandemic making it clear that tackling the plastic problem in Mexico City and its surrounding areas would be an uphill task.

Undeterred by these odds, Iván Chales and Aislinn Rivera, two Scouts studying environmental-related degrees at university, have been steadily making a difference.

Before the pandemic hit, Iván and Aislinn co-led a group of Scouts through a ten-week project aimed at keeping oceans, lakes, and rivers clean and free from plastic pollution. The project was part of the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge, an initiative spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Programme to motivate young people around the world to fight plastic pollution. It is a key part of the Scout Movement’s Earth Tribe, a global community of young people who actively take part in preserving and protecting the environment by completing a series of challenges aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Changing consumer behaviours

A Scout from the age of 15, Aislinn is no stranger to running Scout projects focused on sustainability and environmental awareness. Even so, co-leading this project proved tough at times.

“We had ten weeks to help our Scout group and people around us to first understand the issues, and then inspire them to act. Getting everyone to understand the issues were easy. Taking action, however, was quite challenging,” said Aislinn.

Iván, a Scout since 2008, added: “We needed a plan, so we split our project campaign into three key phases: research and awareness, taking individual action, and a group project that involved a clean-up at a water body in our community.”

In the research phase, Iván explained, Scouts learnt about global and local issues related to plastic and waste pollution. They spent time reading and understanding what was contaminating their waters, and how small changes in individual consumer choices can make a big difference on a larger scale.

“I never knew it was possible to keep our seas clean just by changing consumption habits right here at home,” shared Aislinn excitedly.

However, it was here that the team encountered its first hurdle in limited information on sustainable environmental practices for ordinary citizens to access and understand.

But Scouts never give up and Aislinn began creating informative videos and posting them on YouTube to help viewers understand the dangers of plastic, how to identify single-use items at home, and how to choose more sustainable everyday options that won’t end up littering our oceans. She even filmed tutorials on segregating waste to show others how do the same.

She also used social media to inspire positive lifestyle changes, enabled her to reach more Scouts across Mexico and beyond.

Lake clean-up

The final stage of their project involved a clean-up at Lago Mayor de la Alameda Oriente, a lake into which wastewater from the city’s international airport used to flow. Over time, residents also began dumping garbage into the lake, disrupting its delicate ecological balance.

Aislinn and Iván spoke about how seeing first-hand the impact of unregulated disposal of waste and the overuse of single-use plastics was a turning point for the 20 members of their Scout group, named 238 Genesis.

“We retrieved about 20 dead dogs from the lake area, along with bags of garbage and plastic waste. We believe the animals may have died as a result of consuming the contaminated waters. It was heart-breaking to see the impact of our careless lifestyles on our environment,” she shared. 

Just the beginning

While their ten-week project may have finished, Aislinn and Iván are not done advocating for clean waters. The experience inspired Iván to do more and encourage others to do the same, especially as the world recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.

“The pandemic made everything worse, but it became my motivation to study Mexican ecosystems, particularly oceans and mangroves. I’ll be working on mangrove conservation and rehabilitation in Cienega of Progreso, a mangrove forest, as part of my studies,” said Iván.

For Aislinn, the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge became more than just about getting a badge. It affirmed her belief that even small acts can bring about long-term change.

“The natural environment is everything. If we don’t take care of it, it will affect us all. We must live in harmony with nature … remember, anyone can make a change,” she said.

Together, these two inspirational Scouts have demonstrated that this is only the beginning. There is still hope for a better world and for all of us.

This project was implemented under the Earth Tribe, a world initiative that sees Scouts support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). World initiatives, developed with the support of Alwaleed Philanthropies, enable young people to gain lifelong skills and take the lead in community development efforts.