The western coast of Java in Indonesia is popular with surfers for its world-famous breaks. There’s a majestic underwater world to explore, too. But it’s impossible to surf or snorkel without running into plastic water bottles, single-use cups and food wrappers.
The garbage sometimes forms islands in the sea, and much of it washes ashore, accumulating as mountains on the beach.
The world produces around 400 million metric tons of plastic waste each year. Every day, 2,000 truckloads of it is dumped into the ocean, rivers and lakes.
There are countries that don’t have good trash collection infrastructure. Some do literally dump it into rivers. Look it up if you want to feel sad.