Playa Guacalillo (Guacalillo Beach), Playa Tarcoles (Tarcoles Beach) and Playa Azul (Blue Beach) located in Puntarenas in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica show the evidence every day of what is happening in Costa Rica when it comes to river contamination; the Tárcoles river mouth brings to these beaches all the trash that it carries straight from San Jose.

The Tárcoles River also called “Grande de Tárcoles” (Great Tarcoles), is born in the central mountain range, it has a length of 111 kilometers (69 miles) and its river basin covers an area of 2,121 square kilometers in which many residues from the Metropolitan Area of San Jose (where 50% of the population resides) are dumped.

Volunteers gather every so often to clean up the beach; but it’s a never ending labor, they clean and the tide brings more rubbish, neighbors mention that especially during the rainy season the beaches receive mountains of trash. Bottles, shoes, plastic containers, tires, toys, clothes, straws, umbrellas, brooms, electronic appliances; the list goes on and on. In 2007 the Bridgestone Company organized a general cleaning of the area and gathered 1000 tires.

Organic waste, agrochemicals and solid wastes are received every day by the rivers María Aguilar, Torres, Tiribí and Rivera in the metropolitan area and that ends up in the Great Tarcoles River and later in the Pacific Ocean.
The Tarcoles River is considered the most contaminated river in Central America according to Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). The Guacalillo mangrove and the local fauna are paying the consequences of this disgusting situation. The mangroves are home to crocodiles, falcons, eagles, storks, crabs and monkeys among others, four out of five species of mangrove that exist in Costa Rica, grow here.

The Tarcoles River is also known by its population of American Crocodiles, also affected by the contamination.
Fishermen of the area are affected by the situation and of course there is no tourism here either.
Costa Rica is known for its conservation efforts and the protection of its flora and fauna, but it hasn’t been able to find a solution to this problem.