World's Longest River Nile suffers from plastic pollution, pulling up it has been a tough

Plastic, the term itself sends the chills down the spine to everyone thanks to the dangers of the plastic that the current generation is facing. However, most of the people across the world have neglected it, and the hazards of plastic are still prevailing due to the corruption and illegal business such as manufacturing plastic for money that is taking a toll across the globe. In this situation, Sky News team headed by Alex Crawford has come forward to show us how much plastic accumulated in the river Nile, which affecting animal life, damaging livelihoods and poisoning future generations. The team has spent days together and travelled all along the Nile to bring the actual truth about plastic.

The team has said that they have spoken to people across the five countries along the length of the Nile where they have received several warnings on the hazards of the river water due to plastic accumulation and emphasised on the need to do something to eradicate the problem.

The teams said that there is a need for international collaboration to avoid drowning in plastic. The team who met farmers of Egypt found that the plastic enemy is killing the waterway they've relied on for generations. They told that the water in the Nile was so pure when they were children, but with globalisation and usage of plastic, the water now is so clogged and choked with diseased plastic.

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Crawford repeatedly came up to the surface with a handful of plastic

Plastic is extracted from the calf’s insides

Crawford sitting near mounds of plastic by the Nile

Crawford walks through land filled with plastic waste

A hippo spotted in the Nile

The team has also tracked down smugglers and criminal gangs making, selling and secretly transporting the forbidden cargo of plastic bags in and out of Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda making millions of dollars on a black market which has sprung up as governments try to clamp down on the use of plastic.

On the other hand, the team member Alex Crawford who dared to swim in the Nile has witnessed a cloudy and dirt with no visibility. She revealed that she has come on to the surface with clumps of plastic repeatedly, which shows the degree of dangers. "I could not see a dicky bird. It was like swimming in a pool of black darkness," She added. She said that it was a frightening experience.

They had also found bloat of hippos a whole family splashing water at each other and having a soak in the late afternoon. Despite wondering, they have found that the hippos are standing on piles and piles of discarded human detritus.

However, they concluded that the solution for plastic pollution is not easy; they said it is an addiction and a habit we had to kick off.