A dead sperm whale washed ashore in Wakatobi National Park in southwest Sulawesi province, Indonesia, last Wednesday with six kilos of plastic waste in its stomach – 115 plastic cups, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, two flip-flops, 3.26 kilos of string, and 19 other pieces of plastic. The discovery caused consternation among environmentalists. It was the latest incident involving the growing problem of plastic wastes being dumped in the world’s oceans at the colossal rate of 1.29 million tons annually. Five Asian nations account for up to 60 percent of the plastic waste that ends up in oceans, according o a 2015 report by environmental campaigner Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment. These are China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand – in that order.

Dead whales today - it could be humans tomorrow. (2018, November 26). Manila Bulletin, p. 8.