In Indonesia, a sperm whale was found with bottles, bags and 115 plastic cups in its stomach.
Beached in Indonesia, a sperm whale was found with flip flops, bottles, bags and 115 plastic cups in its stomach
115 disposable cups and other stuff for a total of almost 6 kilos of plastic. The paradox of modern civilization does not stop and once again marine animals get in the way: now, the decaying carcass of a 9,5-meter sperm whale has been found near the Wakatobi Natural Park, in the southeastern province of Sulawesi. With everything and more in the stomach.
We are in Indonesia, one of the largest plastic-polluting countries in the world, where rescuers intervened after receiving a report from environmentalists that villagers had surrounded the dead whale and were starting to slaughter it.
The sperm whale found in Indonesia is just the latest in a long list that sadly sees sea animals as protagonists: from the one found off the south-east coast of Spain with 30 kg of garbage in its stomach to the whale dead due to plastic Malaysia up to at least the good news of the turtle found in the Strait of Messina with plastic in the stomach saved from certain death by the Sea Turtle Recovery Center of Brancaleone.
Even what has emerged in these hours in Indonesia is a gruesome reality: 5,9 kg of plastic waste in the animal's stomach, including 115 plastic cups, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, two pairs of flip flops, a nylon bag and more for over 1.000 assorted plastic pieces.
"Although we have not been able to deduce the cause of death, the facts we see are truly dire," said Dwi Suprapti, marine species conservation coordinator at WWF Indonesia, arguing that it could not be determined whether the plastic had caused the whale's death due to the animal's advanced state of decomposition.
But there is little to go around it: Indonesia, an archipelago of 260 million people, is the second most polluted country in the world with plastics after China, with a production of 3,2 million tons of plastic waste every year, 1,29 of which ends up in the ocean.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister of maritime affairs, said the discovery of the whale should raise public awareness of the need to reduce the use of plastic and urged the government to take tougher measures to protect the ocean. .
“I am so sad to hear this - Pandjaitan declares. It is possible that many other marine animals are also contaminated with plastic waste and this is very dangerous for our lives ”.
Conversely, the government appears to be starting to move to reduce the use of plastic, including urging stores not to provide plastic bags for customers and teaching the problem in schools to achieve the goal of reducing use. 70% plastic by 2025.
A great ambition, sure, but one that can only be put into practice if people learn to understand that plastic waste is a common enemy.
Read also
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Germana Carillo
A sperm whale with 115 glasses in its belly: the terrible find in Indonesia
