Sometimes in life, we have to give to get something back. It's often the way that if you want a gift, you must give one in return - sort of like Christmas and the miserable occasion that is Valentine's Day.
But Marian Erbach came up with one gift-giving experience that many people could get on board with.
The German native, who now lives in Jamaica, was sick of seeing the beaches covered in rubbish and plastic, so he came up with the idea of gifting a 'pure ganja no tobacco added' joint to people that gifted him a bucket of rubbish.
Advert
So, let's get this right - there's a clean beach in front of you and you have the satisfaction of being a part of its cleanliness.
We must make it clear, though - this is solely a gift exchange and not a transaction, because that would be illegal.
The idea came to 33-year-old Marian after he became 'totally upset' with all the rubbish and, more specifically, plastic. He went and rolled 56 joints, equalling 56 grams of marijuana.
Advert
You might wonder: why so specific? Well, there's method in his genius madness, because Marian knows that, under Jamaican law, 56 grams is the maximum amount of the stuff a person can carry that is punishable by - at most - a negligible fine, as opposed to an arrest or a criminal record.
Less than 30 minutes after erecting the sign at Long Bay Beach in Jamaica, the first person had arrived to grab a bucket - and then a joint.
Speaking to LADbible, Marian, who is the owner and founder of the Germaican Hostel, said: "For us it is not possible to trade or change ganja for trash or anything, we just don't have the license and no permit for it.
Advert
"I was just totally upset with all the garbage around us, so the last months I did a lot of research about trash, specially about plastic trash. I often saw some pics where people offered free coffee for a bucket of trash. My girlfriend made a joke, she said, 'In Jamaica we should offer free spliffs.'"
Marian continued: "One of the funniest things about all that, the two buckets I bought were more expensive than all the joints.
"The buckets are at the bar next to my sign, so take up a bucket, walk the beach, fill it, bring it to the bar and get a spliff. These are presents.
Advert
"All the garbage which is collected will be taken by the local garbage collection; they take it to the landfills."
And on the matter of the beach, Marian told LADbible: "This beach is on the east coast. The water flow brings a lot of garbage to the the beach, mostly plastics, all different kinds from all over the world.
"If you look where some of these products are produced or where they come from, you see a big amount of it is not originally from Jamaica."
It's certainly one way of tackling the litter problem. Wonder how many customers he'll get.
Featured Image Credit: Marian ErbachTopics: Interesting, Cannabis, Community