Drowning in Plastic
South Sulawesi & West Java
Our blue planet is facing one its biggest threats in human history. Trillions of pieces of plastic are choking the very lifeblood of our earth, and every marine animal, from the smallest plankton to the largest mammals, is being affected. But can we turn back this growing plastic tide before it is too late? In this 90-minute special, wildlife biologist Liz Bonnin visits scientists working at the cutting edge of plastics research. She works with some of the world's leading marine biologists and campaigners to discover the true dangers of plastic in our oceans and what it means for the future of all life on our planet, including us.
Liz learns that the world's biggest rivers have been turned into huge plastic arteries, transporting 50 per cent of all the plastic that arrives in the ocean. She travels to Indonesia, where she watches a horrifying raft of plastic rubbish travel down one of the main rivers, the Citarum. Here, 60 per cent of fish species have died, so fishermen are now forced to collect plastic to sell instead of fish.
