An online video showing plastic waste found in elephant droppings has sparked concern over the extent to which plastic pollution has permeated the globe. 

What's happening?

The footage, originally shared by Ishan Shanavas, was captured in the Shola forests of Karnataka's Brahmagiri Hill in India. The area is a protected animal sanctuary and a "biodiversity hot spot," according to the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary's website.  

As a protected area, Brahmagiri might be one of the last places that one would expect to find signs of human trash. Unfortunately, that was not the case. 

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A post shared by Ishan Shanavas (@ishan.shanavas)

As Shanavas showed in the video, elephant dung found in the area contained large amounts of plastic waste. 

"OK, so this is something really disturbing," Shanavas says in the video, according to NDTV. "If you look closely, you can see that there is plastic within the dung … This is such an alarming sight."

The finding suggested that the animal that left the droppings had inadvertently consumed plastic waste somewhere within the protected habitat. 

Why is it important?

In recent years, researchers have developed a body of evidence indicating that plastic waste has spread to all corners of the world, from the top of Mount Everest to the deepest trenches of the sea. 

While much remains to be learned about the impact of this plastic waste on human health and the well-being of natural ecosystems, early findings indicate that plastic pollution poses a variety of problems. 

"Discarded improperly, plastic waste pollutes and harms the environment, becoming a widespread driver of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation," according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. "It threatens human health, affects food and water safety, burdens economic activities, and contributes to climate change."    

What's being done about it?

With plastic pollution presenting such a massive, widespread problem, there is no simple solution. However, each of us can take steps every day to help prevent plastic pollution. 

For example, by supporting brands with plastic-free packaging, choosing plastic-free options for everyday products, and knowing your recycling options, we can all do our part to reduce plastic waste.

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