The river swallowed by plastic
The Las Vacas is the most plastic-polluted river in the world. A tributary of the much broader Motagua, it is said to account for 2 per cent of the global total of river-derived plastic waste that enters the oceans.
In just one generation, plastic has swallowed up a whole river ecosystem. At current levels, 20,000 tonnes of plastic flows through the Rio Motagua into the Caribbean Sea every year. When it gets really bad, the pollution can be seen on satellite images.
Madeline, coming home from her job at a nearby pharmacy, holds her hands up despairingly. “The river is so contaminated. It is just disgusting to look at. I never put my feet in it because I’m so worried about slipping on the plastic or picking up an infection from all of the dirt. “My family can remember what it was like before. This had always been a beautiful place – now look at it.”
The contrast between the verdant peaks towering above the Las Vacas ravine and the tidal wave of discarded plastic garbage in the river is jarring, encapsulating an overwhelming manmade crisis.
The pitiful condition of the Las Vacas has made it one of the first targets for the plastic pollution organisation Ocean Cleanup. Their ‘Interceptor Barricade’ consists of around 20 heavy-duty floating plastic booms with netting beneath chained to concrete foundations on the riverbank. 33 truckloads of waste can be removed in just a few hours, most of which was plastic, jumbled in with wool, metal, glass and other materials.
Madeline Vasquez, 19, from a nearby village ruined by plastic waste stands in the riverbed of the Rio Las Vacas.
The Rio Las Vacas, a tributary of the Rio Motagua, flows into the Caribbean. According to Ocean Cleanup it is responsible for 3% of the river derived plastic waste in our oceans.
The Rio Las Vacas, a tributary of the Rio Motagua, flows into the Caribbean. According to Ocean Cleanup it is responsible for 3% of the river derived plastic waste in our oceans.
Fidel Gonzalez, 45, dumps garbage into the Rio Las Vacas ravine near San Antonio Las Flores.
Recovered plastic recycling at The Ocean Cleanup’s base near San Antonio Las Flores.
Scavenging for metal amongst the plastic waste.
Maria, 9 scavenging for metal. Along with her aunt and brother they are paid a total of three dollars by a scrap dealer for four hours’ work.
Luis, 12 scavenging for metal among plastic washed down the river near San Antonio Las Flores.
Waste from Guatemalan beaches and rivers is transformed into plastic bags and flakes for manufacturing clothing and bedding.
A worker takes a lunch break at recycling facility in Choloma, Honduras. Plastic waste is trucked across the border from Guatemala.
Beach cleanup operations adjacent to the settlement of El Quezalito on the Caribbean. Prior to the installation of barriers on the Rio Motagua and it’s tributaries the beach was knee-deep in plastic.
Jose Ramirez, 23, wears a discarded motorcycle helmet during beach cleanup operations adjacent to the settlement of El Quezalito on the Caribbean.
Prior to the installation of barriers on the Rio Motagua and it’s tributaries the beach was knee-deep in plastic.
Rosa, 36, with her sons Victor, 9, and Enriquez, 11 dump garbage into the Rio Las Vacas Ravine.
A woman dumps garbage into the Rio Las Vacas Ravine near Chinautla. Local residents have little alternative but to dump waste into the river.
Rosa, 36, with her sons Victor, 9, and Enriquez, 11 dump garbage into the Rio Las Vacas Ravine.
Guillermo Sosa, Head of The Ocean Cleanup’s work at the River Interceptor which prevents plastic being washed down the river.
All manner of plastic waste is washed down the Rio Las Vacas, a tributary of the Rio Motagua, which flows into the Caribbean.
Plastic recycling at Terrapolyester in Choloma, Honduras.
San Antonio Las Flores Hydroelectric dam Head of Operations Jonatan Caceres.
Plastic recycling at Terrapolyester in Choloma, Honduras.