In Indonesia, a sperm whale was found dead on the beach with 115 plastic cups in its stomach. Indonesia is one of the world's most plastic-polluted countries.
In Indonesia, a sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) was found stranded with over a thousand pieces of plastic in its stomach, weighing approximately six kilograms. The animal's carcass, according to the Guardian, was discovered near the Wakatobi nature reserve, in the south-eastern province of Sulawesi, by villagers who immediately began to butcher it. Park rangers arrived on the scene and alerted the local authorities.
Analysis of the animal's stomach contents, as reported by Heri Santoso, director of Wakatobi National Park, revealed that the sperm whale, which measured 9.5 metres in length, had swallowed no fewer than 115 plastic cups, 4 plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, two flip-flops, a nylon sack and over a thousand pieces of plastic of various kinds.
Dwi Suprapti, WWF Indonesia's coordinator, explained that due to the advanced state of decomposition of the animal it was not possible to determine whether the plastic was the cause of death. "Although we were not able to determine the cause of death, what we saw was terrifying," said Suprapti.
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Indonesia, an archipelago inhabited by 260 million people, is the world's second largest polluter of the oceans with plastic materials, after China. According to a 2015 study published in the journal Science, the country produces 3.2 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, of which 1.29 million tonnes end up in the ocean.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for maritime affairs of Indonesia, announced that the government aims to reduce plastic use by 70 per cent by 2025 and is making considerable efforts to that end, including urging shops not to provide plastic bags to customers and raising awareness of the issue among young people through a national campaign in schools.