Ganga basin covers nearly 40% of India, has big role in carrying trash from source to sea: Heather Koldewey

"The reason why plastic pollution has got so much attention in recent times because science has shown the scale of the problem. Every single place that any marine scientist has ever looked, they have found plastic everywhere," she said.

Heather Koldewey national geographic marine scientist

Heather Koldewey, National Geographic Fellow and Scientific Co-Lead of the “Sea to Source: Ganges” expedition, in India. (Picture credit: Taylor Maddalene)

Plastic pollution is a clear and present danger, evidence of which is well documented. From the deepest ocean trench in the world to the air we breathe, plastic is omnipresent. While it has revolutionised every aspect of our daily lives and adapted well to the needs of industries, notably healthcare, it’s not only an enormous waste management challenge to cope with, but also a rapidly escalating humanitarian and environmental crisis. “Which is why we are using #ChooseThePlanet and hope that this will be an easy choice to make, but it requires us to rethink our lives,” says National Geographic fellow and marine biologist Heather Koldewey.