25,000 PLASTIC BOTTLES BEING THROWN INTO SEA EACH DAY

WASHED up among the Galapagos’s iguanas, huge numbers of discarded Chinese-labelled plastic bottles threaten to ruin the islands’ pristine beaches and rich biodiversity.

Experts believe that the estimated 25,000 bottles thrown overboard by Chinese fishermen every day (some of which are pictured below) pose the greatest threats to the islands’ iguanas, tortoises, birds and fish.

in the first three months of last year, eight tons of plastic waste was collected in the Galapagos, compared with about 6.5 tons in 2017.

Esme Plunkett, 23, a British biologist based on the island of Santa Cruz, spends some of her spare time retrieving rubbish from the beaches.

‘in just 25 minutes, i found 45 Chinese-labelled bottles nestled among the rocks next to the iguanas,’ she said.

‘it will take another 450 years for these bottles to degrade. i have lived here for two years and other than a few bottle caps, i have never seen plastic waste like this in the Galapagos.

‘On my way home, i ran into a local lady who has lived in the Galapagos all her life and she was nearly in tears. She had come across wooden debris and ropes from ships when she was a small girl, but nothing like this.’

Local fishermen are now keeping a record of the plastic found, with residents hoping that a register of the waste collected can be used in the future to make compensation claims against those responsible.

According to conservation experts, at least 18 different Galapagos species, including turtles, marine iguanas and sea lions, have been found entangled in plastic bags and lines, or have ingested plastic after mistaking it for food.