A Redditor sparked outrage after posting a video to the platform of a trash truck dumping its load into a river.
Posting in the r/pune subreddit, for residents of the city of Pune, India, they shared a video that showed a city trash truck dumping garbage into the Mula-Mutha River. (Click here to view footage if embed does not appear.)
"A few days back, I shot a video that honestly left me shocked," the poster said in the caption, "A Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) garbage van was dumping collected waste straight into the Mula-Mutha River."
Throwing trash into a river like this can have significant impacts on the health of both the aquatic ecosystem and the people who live near and rely on it. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, aquatic trash is a risk to wildlife that can get tangled or trapped in it, and it can leach toxins into the water, harming the ecosystem further.
On top of that, plastic waste breaks down into microplastics, which can actively harm fish and other aquatic life by hindering their ability to feed or by entering their bloodstream when ingested.
But trash doesn't just impact the ecosystem; it can also impact human health by tainting the water that residents rely on for drinking and bathing. Improperly disposing of trash is also expensive; according to the EPA, once trash is in the ecosystem, removing it is far more costly than simply disposing of it properly. The U.S. alone spends $11.5 billion per year on cleaning up litter, according to a 2009 study.
Fortunately, Pune is fighting back against illegal dumping; a 24/7 surveillance program has led to almost 4,000 people being fined for it.
"Yes, the same river that flows through our city," the poster continued. "The same one we talk about cleaning, reviving, and protecting. Seeing an official garbage van pollute it like this was just painful to watch."
Commenters were understandably furious about the video.
"What the actual hell is happening in this city," said one. "Every other week I am getting into an altercation with strangers who litter on public streets and now seeing stuff like this just boils my blood."
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"They've been doing this for years, they used to do this on Wakad-Hinjewadi bridge for years but stopped due to traffic issues," said another.
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