Frequently Asked Questions

Why be so negative? How about rewarding the people doing the right things?

We are confronting businesses that understand their waste water system is inadequate and polluting the ocean but choose to not fix it so they can put more money in their pockets. Many of the short term rental owners don’t live in or even visit Nosara so they are immune to social pressure. There needs to be economic consequences to their choices or we will never fix our problems. If you have better ideas we would love to hear it, or better yet get out there and make positive change yourself! On the positive side, the Wildlife Conservation Association of Nosara runs the Sustainable Nosara certification program to recognize the many environmentally responsible people and businesses in the area.

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My property manager says not flushing toilet paper is part of the Costa Rica experience and not a sign of a problem.

Seriously? I think you should find a new property manager. It’s true that a long history of low standards for waste water management in Costa Rica has made it a part of the culture in some areas but that doesn’t make it right or sanitary. In fact, Costa Rica has brought it’s building codes for waste water treatment up to first world levels many years ago. You don’t have to trust us, here is a letter from a licensed professional engineer in Costa Rica. Signs asking you to trash used toilet paper is essentially a confession that their waste treatment system is inadequate. Also the used paper is a biohazard that technically isn’t allowed in normal trash collection and puts the location’s staff at risk. 

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We had a horrible experience with our rental property and the owner offered a big discount if we promise not to give them a poor review. What should we do?

We have heard so many stories like this of vacations ruined by bad wastewater systems directly from the tourists who had the experience. Then we look the property up on Airbnb and it has five stars! You absolutely deserve a big discount for your rental having non-functional bathrooms. But you also owe it to future guests to warn them of the issues. Airbnb and VRBO policy specifically forbids payment for good reviews, so we don’t think accepting the discount you deserve makes you obligated to conceal the owner’s shameful behavior. In fact, we believe you have a moral obligation to speak up, not just for future renters but for everyone who enjoys the ocean.

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Our property manager says that wastewater is the municipality’s responsibility and it is up to the ASADA to build a treatment plant for the entire area. Is this true?

No! Very few communities in Costa Rica have regional waste treatment plants, even major cities depend on each property owner to properly treat waste water. It is the responsibility of every property owner to properly treat effluents before releasing it into the environment. Some forward thinking members of the Nosara community are looking to a future where we have a treatment plant but the process of designing, permitting and construction such a system will take many years.

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Our rental house clearly has problems but the owner says that they will replace the system next year; What should we do?

It’s great that the owners recognize they have a problem that is polluting our ocean and have decided to correct it! Why are they making the problem worse by renting the property in the mean time? We are confident they can have any negative reviews removed once the work is completed and they provide proof to the short term rental sites. You should definitely warn future renters and score the property in a way that reflects how you feel about being an involuntary contributor to sewage ending up on our beach!

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We had a lovely meal at a local restaurant that was ruined by the foul odors in the area. We spoke to the manager and he said they only rent and the owner won’t upgrade the wastewater system. Is it fair to give them a poor review?

This is a common issue and the truth is that many restaraunts are on properties much too small to support any kind of economically viable waste treatment plant given the large number of customers they support. That doesn’t absolve the operators of their responsibility to properly manage their sewage and there is a very low cost option available to them. A black water containment tank can be installed to capture all the output from restrooms for very little cost and then pumping and trucking the contents to a proper treatment facility is just part of their normal operating expenses. Personally we wonder if a restaurant is so careless about its’ bathrooms what might the sanitation practices in the kitchen? Food poisoning isn’t fun!