We drop anchor in the Indonesian port town of Kupang on the island of Timor. In six years spent at sea circumnavigating, these are the most polluted waters we’ve ever sailed in. A stream of plastic debris, stretching for miles, is heading towards us: noodle wrappers, a garden chair and bin bags full of more plastic glide by.
Beaches are speckled with colours and textures that don’t belong. Comprising of more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is a developing country without, in places, comprehensive waste – management systems or recycling infrastructure yet. The oversupply of single-use plastic by producers coupled with the tonnes of banned illegal plastic waste smuggled in by…