Trashing Beach

Here you see are the trash littered on a sandbank near Male’, which has become a popular destination for local picnic-goers. Leaving trash on the beach after a picnic is not just unsightly and inconsiderate, but they have become a terrifying reality for marine animals. Plastic bags are known to block the digestive tracks of sea turtles and other marine animals. Ocean Crusaders Foundation reports that 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement (that we know of.)

Scientists have also learned that plastic containers wear down into sand-like particles and enter the food web, posing a great health risk to humans, especially Maldivians living on a seafood diet.

For your next family picnic, it is advised to take a trash bag with you, which you can bring back home and dispose of appropriately.