The lush tropical islands of the South Pacific are painted as idyllic paradises in travel brochures, but they harbour a dirty secret — they are drowning in plastic waste.

China Navigation Co (CNCo) teamed up with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in 2018 to find a solution to this problem.

CNCo general manager of sustainable development Simon Bennett esplained that the Moana Taka Partnership ships plastic waste from the islands to competent, sustainable recyclers in the Asia-Pacific region.