Watch: Why this diver’s horrifying video has gone viral

Life


Watch: Why this diver’s horrifying video has gone viral

By Susan Devaney

7 years ago

A diver has shared a video online highlighting the amount of plastic waste in the ocean off the coast of Bali – and it’s encouraged countless people to change their consumer ways.

In 2018 many people are aiming to remove single-use plastic from their lives in favour of more environmentally-friendly alternatives as the polluting material becomes a talking point across the globe.

Now, the conversation continues as a diver has taken to social media to highlight the global issue by sharing a video of himself swimming through a lot of plastic waste in the sea.

In the short video, British diver Rich Horner can be seen manoeuvring his way through plastic bottles, plastic cups, plastic wrappers – and barely any sea creatures or Manta rays – in Manta Point dive site in Bali, Indonesia.

“The ocean currents brought us in a lovely gift of a slick of jellyfish, plankton, leaves, branches, fronds, sticks, etc…. Oh, and some plastic,” Horner wrote in a Facebook post. “Some plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic cups, plastic sheets, plastic buckets, plastic sachets, plastic straws, plastic baskets, plastic bags, more plastic bags, plastic, plastic, so much plastic!”

He continued: “Surprise, surprise, there weren’t many Mantas there at the cleaning station today… They mostly decided not to bother.”

Horner admitted that there was no way of knowing where the rubbish had come from, but it could’ve travelled thousands of miles, “from anywhere in Indonesia, or north from The Philippines, Malaysia, and beyond,” he added.

Responding to claims from other divers, who have reported seeing no rubbish in the sea, Horner points out that the plastic will have already travelled further along the Indian Ocean “to slowly break up into smaller and smaller pieces, into microplastics. But not going away.”

And people have replied to his post vowing to change their plastic-consuming ways.

“Creating change is anything but simple, but we can do it if we work together. We all have a voice in our communities around the world. We can talk to our friends, our family, shop keepers, local law makers, etc. Start the conversation about how single-use plastics are impacting the environment, the animals we love, and most importantly, US!,” one user posted.

“I myself do try to avoid plastic were I can, but it’s impossible to live and buy daily items without the bloody stuff. This is a fight that needs to be beaten fast, we don’t have years before it’s out of control,” another user wrote.

This year, the UK government made the decision to ban the use of plastic microbeads which are commonly found in many beauty and personal care products across the country. 

And the fight continues…

Images: YouTube / Unsplash

Share this article

undefined

By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy

Thank you!

You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.