Littering in the U.S. vs. Mexico

U.S.
When researching litter, I've discovered some differences and similarities between the U.S. and Mexico concerning how big of an issue it is, how it's dealt with, and how it affects the country.

First of all, in the U.S., littering is viewed in a different light. People are often educated on the negative effects of littering and are fined if they litter (up to $1.500 in Chicago) which discourages people from doing so. In Mexico, people take littering a little more lightly and laws on littering are rare and rarely enforced.. In a 2012 interview, Mexico City residents were asked if they left recyclable waste in the streets, 52% said yes, and in a 2013 survey 42% of Americans admitted they littered in the past month.

Besides penalties, organizations themselves have tried to solve some of the problems connected to littering. The Audubon, where I volunteered, organize volunteer days once a month where people can go and clean up the Salt River. This consists of a 2-3 hour period where people pick up trash in the Audubon in garbage bags and leave it for the crew to pick up.

Other organizations, like Marine Litter Solutions contribute to raising awareness, researching for facts, promoting policies, spreading knowledge, and enhancing recovery of waste.

Audubon Volunteering

Littering is also dealt with in the U.S. by educating the public on the dangers through policies and the general spread of knowledge. One program, Marine Litter Solutions, is an international program focused on raising awareness of litter in our water, researching facts, promoting policies, spreading knowledge, and enhancing the recovery of litter.

They raise awareness through creating partnerships with the government and communities, trying to spread knowledge and awareness through education (e.g. having educational events on recycling, visiting classrooms, starting anti-litter campaigns). They also do research in order to assess the amount of litter in the water and creating quantifiable targets to reduce marine debris: :"the Global plastics industry works with the scientific community and researchers to better understand and evaluate the scope, origins, and impact of and solutions to marine litter." Also, through connecting with the government, they are able to help promote new waste management policies.

Finally, they try to actually try to get out there and collect the litter using new and innovative solutions. For example, Marine Litter Solutions is currently working on outfitting fishing boats with trawls that will be able to collect 2-8 tonnes of waste, they hope to complete this by 2020. They also organize cleanups all over the world to clean up waste int the water.

A cleanup 

Mexico
The organization in Mexico I was initially interested in was "Mexico Limpio y Querido". They try to raise environmental awareness on litter and other similar problems, trying to reduce litter in Puedo Vallarta and Riveria Nayarit. They organize meetings where people can come and leave more educated about environmental issues.

In Mexico, there is also an annual nationwide cleanup day called "Limpiemos Nuestro Mexico" The event included television spots raising the awareness of littering and the improper refuse handling in Mexico. Last year, 7 million volunteers collected 36,500 metric tons of garbage.

Volunteers for Limpiemos Nuestro Mexico

Edit: I was just contacted by INECC or "Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático". I received a very thorough email answering all of my questions.

They said they were in a close alliance with SEMARNAT, another organization I contacted, and that together they have been working to train government officials in the area of waste management.  Along with other organizations, they have spread nationwide courses on the importance of the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) and was also designed to support development in waste management projects that are desperately needed. 

They also wrote that: "INECC also participated in the design of Prevention Policy and Integrated Waste Management, as well as the preparation of the National Program for Prevention and Integrated Waste Management (2008-2012). Furthermore, the development INECC Basic Diagnosis 2012 where the situation that solid waste in Mexico (attached publication) is presented. We have participated in assessments of 13 sites of waste disposal, as well as in the development of techniques {on reviews of different technologies for the treatment of waste. Furthermore, in collaboration with the German Development Agency (GIZ) developed a methodology for collecting data in the field of waste and specific studies that quantify environmental performance of specific flows, such as plastic bags, the underside PET, to name a few."

INECC feels it is important to teach this issued so people can grow passionate about them and learn sustainability.