{"id":16582,"date":"2021-06-09T11:28:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T23:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=16582"},"modified":"2024-07-12T11:50:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T23:50:48","slug":"tons-of-toxic-microplastics-are-covering-sri-lankas-western-coastline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/tons-of-toxic-microplastics-are-covering-sri-lankas-western-coastline\/","title":{"rendered":"Tons of toxic microplastics are covering Sri Lanka\u2019s western coastline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Tons of toxic microplastics used to make single-use plastic packaging are covering Sri Lanka\u2019s western coastline.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/86c0d061-243528549w-1024x626.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/86c0d061-243528549w-1024x626.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/86c0d061-243528549w-600x367.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/86c0d061-243528549w-768x470.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/86c0d061-243528549w-510x312.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/86c0d061-243528549w.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>A crab roams on a beach polluted with polythene pellets that washed ashore from burning ship MV X-Press Pearl anchored off Colombo port at Kapungoda, out skirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, May 31, 2021. The fire on the Singapore-flagged ship has been burning since May 20, ravaging the ship. Debris from the burning ship that has washed ashore is causing severe pollution on beaches. (AP Photo\/Eranga Jayawardena)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happened?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Sri Lanka is facing one of the worst environmental disasters in its history after tons of plastic pellets have washed ashore near its capital devastating kilometers of pristine beaches and threatening marine life. The pellets, microplastics the size of lentils, are the type used as raw materials in the production of single-use plastic packaging.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-600x399.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/5a83fbf5-gettyimages-1233195656-510x340.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Members of Sri Lankan Navy remove debris washed ashore from the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl, which has been burning for the 12th consecutive day in the sea off Sri Lanka&#8217;s Colombo Harbour, on a beach in Colombo on May 31, 2021. (Photo by Lakruwan WANNIARACHCHI \/ AFP) (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why it matters<\/h2>\n\n<p>Why are hundreds of tons of newly produced microplastics shipped as pellets across the world&#8217;s oceans? As if the plastic pollution crisis wasn\u2019t already dire enough!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>In less than 70 years of mass production, plastic has worked its way into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/publication\/plastic-pollution-reaches-the-antarctic\/\">every nook and cranny of the planet<\/a> and its effects on the environment and climate are everywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>Images of soldiers and volunteers tirelessly working to remove the tiny microplastics from Sri Lanka\u2019s beaches are once again shedding light on a broken system that is failing both us and the planet we call home. Natural resources are extracted to maximise profits over people. Fossil fuel and consumer goods companies are working together to power a throwaway economic model, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/personal-stories-from-the-international-front-lines-of-the-broken-plastic-waste-trade\/\">where profit trumps the costs to our communities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What we\u2019re saying about it<\/h2>\n\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/coke-face-your-plastic-footprint\/\">Big brands cannot continue increasing plastic production<\/a> without devastating the health of communities and our biodiversity around the globe while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/three-reasons-why-plastics-wont-save-the-oil-industry\/\">fueling runaway climate change<\/a>,\u201d said Abigail Aguilar, Regional Campaign Coordinator at Greenpeace Southeast Asia. \u201cThe clock is ticking. Enough of the greenwashing by big brands and the fossil fuel industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/06\/a69d84d7-gettyimages-1233231971-510x340.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl carrying hundreds of tonnes of chemicals and plastics, sinks after burning for almost two weeks, just outside Colombo&#8217;s harbour on June 2, 2021. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA \/ AFP) (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What needs to happen<\/h2>\n\n<p>Plastic is not just an ocean and waste problem, it is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/plastic-pollution-climate-health-social-justice-issue\/\">climate, health and social justice problem<\/a> too. There is no human health without planetary health: big consumer goods brands that rely on <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2021-05-plastics-ship-sri-lanka-beach.html\">single-use plastic<\/a>, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/greenpeace-challenges-coke-with-christmas-ads\/\">Coca-Cola<\/a>, Nestle and Pepsi, must rethink their business model and embrace a green and just future.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/petition.act.greenpeace.org.nz\/plastics-choke\">Demand that big brands like Coca Cola stop propping up the fossil fuel industry, move away from single-use plastic completely, and implement sustainable refill and reuse systems on a global scale to deliver their products.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p>And in terms of environmental disasters such as this, the shipping company should be held responsible for all lost containers, their contents and any adverse impacts caused. Importantly, plastic should be classified as an environmentally hazardous material and handled as such by being allocated IMDG codes (international code for the maritime transport of dangerous goods in packaged form).<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Ana Hristova is Plastic Campaign Strategist with Greenpeace International<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"EmptyMessage\">Block content is empty. Check the block&#8217;s settings or remove it.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tons of toxic microplastics used to make single-use plastic packaging are covering Sri Lanka\u2019s western coastline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"Tons of toxic microplastics are covering Sri Lanka\u2019s western coastline","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"Plastics Free Future","p4_local_project":"PLASTICS National 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crab roams on a beach polluted with polythene pellets that washed ashore from burning ship MV X-Press Pearl anchored off Colombo port at Kapungoda, out skirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, May 31, 2021. The fire on the Singapore-flagged ship has been burning since May 20, ravaging the ship. Debris from the burning ship that has washed ashore is causing severe pollution on beaches. 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