“Listen to Tita…No Littah!” Remember this slogan? If you’ve lived on Maui for the past decade, you probably do. For everyone else, it was the sass-infused rallying call for Maui County’s 2006 anti-litter campaign. Tita is the comedic alter-ego of radio personality and Maui No Ka ʻOi columnist, Kathy “Tita” Collins. Her message was simple: Maui is beautiful, let’s keep it that way.
Indeed, most of my posts will include picturesque beach shots, colorful tropical flowers, jaw-dropping waterfalls…you get the idea. It’s the Maui that most people seek out. During a recent trip to the beach, however, I saw another side of Maui that’s not often publicized: LITTER! I thought to myself, “What would Tita say if she saw this?!”
Below is a sunrise shot taken at Ukumehame Beach on Maui’s west side. Kinda amazing, huh? The images in the slideshow that follow are what I saw when the sun rose and I took a closer look. Kinda, well…gross. Besides being an eyesore, it spoils the ocean environment that makes Maui so lovely. Our ocean-dwelling neighbors deserve better.
So, dear reader, if seeing trash on our beaches (or anywhere else, for that matter) bugs you, let’s do something about it. It goes without saying, we should all dispose of our trash properly. Furthermore, borrowing from Australia’s popular anti-litter campaign, Take3.org.au, I encourage you to pick up three pieces of trash every time you visit the beach. (Extra points for hauling away even more trash!) Just think—what would Tita do?
Such a gorgeous stretch of sand along Ukumehame Beach. And here’s what you might not notice…
