A video shot off the coast of Bali‘s Manta Point is offering a stark reminder of the pollution problem plaguing bodies of water around the world.
Filmed and posted by British diver Rich Horner on Facebook last week, the video has been shared more than 25,000 times.
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In the post, Horner described what he saw during the underwater excursion.
“The ocean currents brought us in a lovely gift of a slick of jellyfish, plankton, leaves, branches, fronds, sticks, etc…” he wrote.
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“Oh, and some plastic. Some plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic cups, plastic sheets, plastic buckets, plastic sachets, plastic straws, plastic baskets, plastic bags, more plastic bags, plastic, plastic, so much plastic!”
Bali is known for its beautiful beaches, but also for the garbage that often swims in nearby waters.
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In December, the island declared a “garbage emergency.”
According to the Telegraph, about seven kilometres of beach on the island were closed off because the amount of trash washed ashore became dangerous to tourists. The emergency resulted in a large cleanup effort.
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But often, there is no garbage at all. In an interview with BBC News, Horner explained that ocean tides bring in loads of garbage, but then the same tides take it back into different bodies of water.
Regardless, the trash largely stays in the water and affects wildlife.
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Advocacy organization Plastic Oceans reports that an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic is thrown into the bodies of water each year. Much of the trash is commonly used items such as disposable water bottles and plastic bags.
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