Video | Diver films shocking underwater video of plastic garbage wasteland in Bali

Millions of tourists are drawn to Bali’s palm-fringed scenery and rich marine life, but a British diver has released stark footage highlighting a growing problem in its famously crystal-clear waters: plastic rubbish.

An underwater video shot by Rich Horner this week showing a sea overflowing with plastic and other garbage at Manta Point, a well-known diving site near Bali’s main island, has already been viewed about a million times.

“The ocean currents brought us in a lovely gift of a slick of jellyfish, plankton, leaves, branches, fronds, sticks, etc … Oh, and some plastic,” the diver wrote on his Facebook account.

Plastics of all kinds – including bottles, cups and straws – were floating around him, he said.

“Plastic bags, more plastic bags, plastic, plastic, so much plastic!”

Often dubbed a paradise on earth, the Indonesian holiday island has become an embarrassing poster child for the country’s trash crisis.