For a variety of reasons, lots of (mostly) plastic trash washes up on the otherwise lovely beaches here. I suspect some of it is dumped way out at sea by cruise ships and floats in, some is trash from neighboring countries that due to sea currents washes up here, and some is certainly dropped by people walking or riding bicycles on the beach, a very common form of transportation here on the island.
There is no recycling on Ambergris Caye yet, unfortunately, and not nearly enough trash bins once you get outside San Pedro Town itself. On a positive note, since glass beer and soda bottles are for-deposit, those DO get returned and do not end up on the beach, at least not for long. There are plenty of enterprising locals who pick them up quickly to turn in for cash when they do get discarded. So at least the trash that washes up on the beach is mostly lightweight and easy to haul away.
The beaches in front of resorts and condominium projects along the sea are raked clean of sea grass and have trash picked up daily by workers, but beaches in front of undeveloped properties are not cared for, and as a result, trash accumulates. There are several stretches of beach just north of Chico Caribe that we see every time we ride our bikes or run north, and it makes us sad to see all the trash marring their beauty, so we decided to start working on them. Once we make one pass through all three stretches, it will be much easier to keep trash picked up in the future.