Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

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In Dhaka, Bangladesh, this slough of plastic trash is next to a huge recycling center. One of the main drivers of plastic waste in the ocean is the overburden that blows into watersheds in countries that have over 80% of unmanaged plastic waste. Plastic waste and global warming are companion threats. People’s need for clean drinking water increases as temperatures rise. The size of this center in Dhaka is equivalent to three football fields. In the winter when I made this photograph, only one of the football fields was filled with plastic waste. In the summer when everyone drinks more bottled water because of the excessive heat in a Bangladesh summer, all three football fields are filled with plastic waste. The slough next to this informal factory is filled with the overburden that is either shoved away or is blown by the wind into the neighboring watershed.

Copyright
RANDY OLSON
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6720x4480 / 32.9MB
Keywords
Contained in galleries
Plastic or Planet? National Geographic magazine 3/2018
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, this slough of plastic trash is next to a huge recycling center. One of the main drivers of plastic waste in the ocean is the overburden that blows into watersheds in countries that have over 80% of unmanaged plastic waste. Plastic waste and global warming are companion threats. People’s need for clean drinking water increases as temperatures rise. The size of this center in Dhaka is equivalent to three football fields. In the winter when I made this photograph, only one of the football fields was filled with plastic waste. In the summer when everyone drinks more bottled water because of the excessive heat in a Bangladesh summer, all three football fields are filled with plastic waste. The slough next to this informal factory is filled with the overburden that is either shoved away or is blown by the wind into the neighboring watershed.