Island Notes from A Woofer by Melody S Wolfe – See what litter but call them out

“See wa litterbug? Call dem out!” I love Belize. I love our celebrations. I love seeing the flags, the music, the costumes, the dancing, the pride.
But after the celebrations this year, seeing the amount of garbage left behind honestly broke my heart.
I was on a float watching people throw cups, bottles and garbage onto the street, sometimes almost with this attitude of, well, somebody from the Town Council is coming behind us to clean it anyway.
And yes, they probably are. But why should they have to pick up a bottle you were perfectly capable of carrying for another five minutes?
My friend Rosana shared that while she was in San Pedro, she actually watched a woman throw her beer bottle straight into the lagoon. The lagoon.
And all over social media, Belizeans from different parts of the country were sharing the same frustration. After all that Belizean Pride, we were leaving Belize covered in garbage.
But instead of us just getting mad every year, posting pictures, calling people nasty and then doing the exact same thing next September, what can we actually DO?
Because I also think we have to be fair about something. Sometimes there genuinely isn’t a garbage bin nearby.
So let’s fix that too
If you are a homeowner or business owner along a parade route, put out a garbage bin. It doesn’t even have to be fancy. Hang a big garbage bag on your fence with a sign that says GARBAGE. Put out an old barrel. A box. Anything.
If thousands of people are going to be walking past your property eating, drinking and celebrating, let’s give them somewhere to put the garbage.
Businesses can help. Homeowners can help. The Town Council can help. And we can help each other.
I would LOVE to see volunteers during parade days whose entire job is keeping the route clean. And honestly? Get the kids involved.
Give them little shirts or badges and make them the Garbage Police.
Let them walk around reminding people, “Excuse me, garbage goes in the bin.”
Kids have absolutely no shame. They will call you out in front of everybody and keep walking.
Actually, years ago there was a woman named Janet who led an environmental group here when I was a child, and one of the things I remember learning was the word “litterbug.”
To this day, if I see somebody throw garbage on the ground, I will yell, “LITTERBUG!”
And yes, I believe we should bring that back.
Mek wi teach our children to call them out. If you see somebody littering, yell LITTERBUG!
You throw your beer cup on the street in front of a ten-year-old and hear, “LITTERBUG!”
Embarrassed? Good. Maybe next time you’ll look for a garbage bin.
But beyond embarrassing people, we need education from very young.
Not one environmental presentation once a year where everybody claps and forgets about it by lunchtime.
Make taking care of Belize part of school culture. Teach children that the street is not a garbage bin. The lagoon is not a garbage bin. The sea is not a garbage bin.
Somebody else’s yard is not a garbage bin. And yes, I also believe there should be real penalties for deliberate littering.
If someone throws garbage from a vehicle, dumps trash on the roadside, or throws bottles into our waterways, there should be consequences strong enough that people actually think twice.
I even think schools should have consequences for littering on campus, because habits start somewhere.
Not cruel punishment. Education, cleanup duty, responsibility.
You threw the garbage down? Wonderful. Here are some gloves. You’re helping clean today.
Because the generation we may have the greatest chance of changing is the one coming behind us.
Imagine Belizean children growing up thinking littering is embarrassing.
Imagine them correcting their parents.
Imagine throwing a bottle on the street becoming socially unacceptable instead of something everybody watches and ignores.
We already teach our children the anthem.
We teach them to wave the flag.
We teach them September songs and Belizean history and how to march in a parade wearing red, white and blue.
Now let’s teach them what happens after the parade.
Because Belizean Pride cannot only be something we wear in September.
It has to be how we treat Belize when the carnivals and Parades are over.

Island Notes from a Woofer is a column by Melody Sanchez Wolfe, an artist, writer, wedding planner, entrepreneur, mother of three, and proud San Pedrana who notices a little too much and writes about it. Blending island life, culture, humor, nostalgia, community conversations, random observations, personal experiences, art, business, relationships, social commentary, and whatever else happens to wander through her beautifully chaotic neurodivergent brain that week, this column is part island diary, part storytelling, part open journal, and part love letter to San Pedro – the old, the new, the beautiful, the frustrating, and everything in between.