Seventh Clean Up Campaign

Community - El Balsamar

 Saturday, August 25, 2007 the seventh cleanup campaign in El Balsamar was completed, the second campaign to be coordinated by the Environmental Committee of El Balsamar.

This committee was formed as a  result of a project solicited by the organization GAIA El Salvador to "El Fondo Iniciativa para las Américas El Salvador" (FIAES), which includes a series of actions and activities to be realized in the community El Balsamar under the guidelines of the project.

In this seventh cleanup campaign, (the third to have been financed by FIAES), 125 members of the community participated.  The community being devided into five caserios: El Centro, El Campo, Las Isletas, El Coyol and El Naranjo, participation was documented according to the following:       

El Centro -30 participants, El Campo - 5 participants, Las islets - 28 participants, El Coyol - 27 participants, El Naranjo - 35 participants, with a total of 125 pariticipants.                                    

71.20% of the participants were children, which is considered an improvement from the last clean up campaign due to the classes given in the local school "Centro Escolar El Balsamar" by GAIA El Salvador in the themes of Waste Management and Biodiversity.

22.40% of the participants were women, thanks to the convocation of the environmental committee.

6.40% of the participants were men,  Such a small number was encountered due to agricultural activities or lack of interest in participating.

The garbage, for now, is being guarded in the “Casa Comunal”, which, for the clean up campaigns, is considered a place for planning and meeting.

During the trash collection, items were separated into three categories: Plastic, Aluminum and non recyclables. The Environmental Committee is in the process of coordinating with the mayor’s office to send a truck to collect the non recyclables.

In relation to the plastic and aluminum, these will be sold by the committee and the funds collected will be used for other, future environmental activities.

The quantity of bags collected is detailed in the following chart:

Size or the bags - 85x120 centimeters

Plastic and aluminum - 12 bags, Non Recyclables - 21 bags, with a total of 33 bags.

In the end, refreshments were given to all of the participants, who are, as of now, awaiting  the next community cleanup campaign scheduled sometime for late October.