Dominican Republic: Plastic waste chokes surfers’ paradise

An army of volunteers helps clean up a massive haul of plastic polluting Bali's famous Kuta beach.

Alarmed by the mountains of plastic waste leaching into Indonesia's waters, two best friends are taking on the environmental menace by turning crisp bags and shampoo packets into paving bricks.

Nina Gomes is no average environmentalist. With bright pink goggles and just 4 years old, she picks trash with her father from the water along the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. With Nina in tow, Gomes sets out on a paddleboard into the picturesque but polluted waters of Rio's Guanabara Bay, where she grabs plastic bottles and bags and puts them in a mesh net.

With greenhouses as far as the eye can see, the southern Spanish region of Andalusia has been nicknamed the "Sea of Plastic". Intensive farming is the norm and it helps feed the European market with fruit and vegetables all year long. It also produces an estimated 33,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year. Until two years ago, this waste was exported to countries such as China, Pakistan and Turkey. But now that these countries are refusing to take rubbish from rich countries, the "Sea of Plastic" is faced with the urgent challenge of recycling its own waste. Our correspondents report.

Tetiꞌaroa, an almost deserted Pacific island northeast of Tahiti, is a sanctuary for birds, sea turtles and all sorts of marine life. The atoll is perhaps most famous for being bought by US actor Marlon Brando. But this picturesque French Polynesian island is being invaded by plastic waste washed ashore by ocean tides. As a result, a team of volunteers have been to Tetiꞌaroa for a clean-up operation. Our colleagues from Polynésie la première report, with FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin.

The Dominican Republic markets itself as a tropical vacation paradise. But behind the scenes lie heaps of trash from mass tourism. People like Eddy Rosado and the UN environment program are trying to shrink the Caribbean nation's garbage dumps.

The wall will cover almost half of the border between the two countries. Many Haitians cross the border in search of work in the fields or in the construction industry in the Dominican Republic.

People are still talking about Ghana's unique bus shelter made of plastic waste. It has been billed as a novel and sustainable way to put discarded plastic to use and fight pollution.

It is a common sight in Addis Ababa these days to see men, women and even children moving around the city with huge bags of plastic waste. Their hauls mostly contain plastic bottles, but any plastic waste they come across will fetch cash according to its weight.

The Caribbean island of Hispaniola is home to two countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Both have a population of around 10 million — but that's about where their similarities end.

A 'hunt' for Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic, and the Indian state that's crazy for football

Latin America's largest gold mine is at the centre of a contentious debate. The Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic produces nearly 50 percent of the country's gold. But fifty years of industrial mining have transformed the once-isolated village of Cotui into a massive open-air mine.