For Swietenia Puspa Lestari of Divers Clean Action, a local community program in Bali, plastic pollution in the ocean has become of concern, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the virus hit the country last March, her community has found more and more surgical masks, latex gloves and other medical waste ending up in rivers, beaches, and the ocean, highlighting danger marine ecosystems.

“This is of great concern because our group and other volunteers cannot go clean the beaches as often as before, or conduct large-scale clean-up efforts in the midst of the pandemic,” she said. . Jakarta Post Tuesday.

The problem was exacerbated by the significant growth in online shopping and food deliveries as more people avoided going out for fear of contracting COVID-19, leading to increased use of mono-u. .