UN study traces plastic pollution in Mekong and Ganges rivers

An aerial shot of a Mekong tributary outside Vientiane, Laos, where tests on a drone survey of plastic trash were done. Microplastics were also found to be abundant in the Mekong and Ganges rivers.
An aerial shot of a Mekong tributary outside Vientiane, Laos, where tests on a drone survey of plastic trash were done. Microplastics were also found to be abundant in the Mekong and Ganges rivers. PHOTOS: UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
Tan Hui Yee
Indochina Bureau Chief
Updated
Jun 02, 2020, 06:56 AM
Published
Jun 02, 2020, 05:00 AM
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Municipal trash dumped at an open landfill in Thailand risks filling a nearby tributary of the Mekong River with plastic waste whenever it is rainy or windy.

Along India's Ganges River, small sachets that used to wrap chewing tobacco are abundant, but are hard to collect and dispose.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 02, 2020, with the headline UN study traces plastic pollution in Mekong and Ganges rivers. Subscribe

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