‘No one cares about the little guy’: Sri Lanka’s fishers still reeling from 2021 toxic plastic spill

AI Summary

A 2021 container-ship spill released large quantities of plastic nurdles along Sri Lanka’s west coast, damaging marine life and local fishing livelihoods. Five years later, residents continue to face the consequences of the pollution.

A stricken container ship shed tonnes of tiny pellets called nurdles on the west coast. Five years on, locals are counting the cost to marine life and livelihoods On the beach in Pamunugama, on Sri Lanka’s west coast, women in uniform work under the scorching sun. They sift through rubbish washed ashore, searching among the usual litter for something much smaller: tiny plastic pellets. Five years ago, in May 2021, this same beach was swamped with pellets as smoke rose over the Indian Ocean. Continue reading...