Puerto Vallarta sculptor brings awareness of plastics in our oceans to Veracruz

Faced with the growing production of plastic containers, straws and other items that, when discarded, end up in our oceans, and other places, contaminating the environment, but above all with a lethal impact on the life of animal species, particularly marine wildlife.

To reinforce this message, Greenpeace, with the support of the sculptor Javier Calvillo from Puerto Vallarta, promoted the development of a sand sculpture represented in a turtle, on the beaches of Boca del Río, a species that receives the main negative effects of plastics in the ocean.

The sand sculpture is 12 meters wide and 8 meters long, on the beaches of Boca del Río and began with preparations on Friday.

It resembles a turtle trapped between plastics and on which a legend was placed “Your containers do not disappear. Here they are!”

Miguel Rivas, coordinator of the Oceans Campaign of Greenpeace Mexico, demanded from here that the companies Coca Cola, Pepsi, Unilever, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks and McDonald’s are committed to eliminate the plastic containers of only one use, and invest and innovate in other delivery alternatives, establishing ambitious goals to reduce their plastic footprint.

He cited a revealing fact: In the last ten years more plastic has been produced than in the last century, 50 percent of the plastic we use is discarded.

“Although companies try to sell us the discourse that it is enough to recycle, the reality is that it is not enough. In this plastic epidemic that we live, only 9 percent of what is produced is recycled. What is needed is to stop producing plastic and see it as the only alternative to deliver the products,” said Javier Calvillo.

Photo by Alina Krauss