Viewfinder: Plastic Bottles Pile Up on the Coast in Lebanon

Author:: Pacific Standard Staff
Publish date:: Jul 20, 2018

Seagulls search for food near a sewage discharge area next to piles of plastic bottles washed away by the water on the seaside of Ouzai, south of Beirut, on July 19th, 2018. Many Lebanese nationals are refraining from heading to the beach this summer after reports about high levels of pollution along the country's Mediterranean coast, despite reassurances from government officials that the beaches remain safe.
(Photo: Joseph Eid/Getty images)

Viewfinder is Pacific Standard's daily photo feature, showcasing one image from the news.

A plastic fork lies on a beach along the Spree River in the city center on May 29th, 2018, in Berlin, Germany. Europe is struggling to combat plastics pollution in its waterways and seas. It recently announced it will seek to ban the use of certain common plastic items, including plastic cutlery, straws, plates, swabs, and fishing gear.

Europe announced it will seek to ban the use of certain common plastic items, including plastic cutlery, straws, plates, swabs, and fishing gear.

A sculpture made from over 2,500 plastic bottles recovered from beaches, rivers, and streets from around the United Kingdom is seen outside the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs as part of a stunt by environmental campaign group Greenpeace on February 25th, 2019, in London, England. The sculpture was delivered to DEFRA to apply pressure on Environment Secretary Michael Gove to move forward with a proposed deposit return scheme for bottles and cans bought in the U.K.

Viewfinder

A sculpture made from over 2,500 plastic bottles is seen outside the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs on February 25th, 2019, in London, England.

News in Brief

Motorists wait as cows cross a road in Abobo, a suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on January 3rd, 2018.

Environment

Groups of volunteers clean up plastic waste on a beach in Lima, Peru, during World Environment Day on June 5th, 2018.

Viewfinder

A transport vessel is berthed to load waste materials at the port in Subic Bay, north of Manila, Philippines, on May 30th, 2019.

In this NASA handout image taken by Astronaut Ricky Arnold, Hurricane Florence gains strength in the Atlantic Ocean as it moves west, seen from the International Space Station on September 10th, 2018. Weather predictions say the storm will likely hit the East Coast of the United States as early as Thursday, September 13th, bringing massive winds and rain.

Viewfinder

Hurricane Florence gains strength in the Atlantic Ocean as it moves west, seen from the International Space Station on September 10th, 2018.

Viewfinder: Plastic Bottles Pile Up on the Coast in Lebanon

Viewfinder: Europe Struggles to Combat Pollution by Plastic

Viewfinder: Greenpeace Campaigns for a Deposit Return Scheme in the U.K. With a Giant Plastic Bottle

Viewfinder: A Cow-Crossing in the Ivory Coast

Viewfinder: United Nations Issues Global Challenge to Reduce Ocean Pollution for World Environment Day

Viewfinder: The Philippines Returns Imported Plastic Waste to Canada

Viewfinder: Hurricane Florence Gains Strength and Barrels Toward the East Coast