A Singaporean container ship has been burning off Colombo, Sri Lanka for almost 2 weeks. It’s just now come to the world’s attention because it’s carrying a load of microplastics. The waste has started washing onto the beaches, putting the local marine ecology at risk and the local fishing and tourism industries under threat. Reports say thousands of defence personnel have been working on scooping up the tiny polyethene pellets with diggers. One said “This is like the coronavirus. No end in sight. We removed all the plastic yesterday, only to see more of it dumped by the waves overnight.” Senior officials have labelled it the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history.