This week marked World Environment day and World Ocean day, both of which highlighted plastic global pollution as the most urgent problem facing our planet. So as a parody of our popular Week in wildlife gallery, from dead pelicans to trapped turtles and garbage-eating cows, we bring you ... the Week in plastic.
Photograph: Subhash Sharma/Zuma/Alamy
Photograph: Rajat Gupta/EPA
Photograph: Fachrul Reza/Barcroft Images
Photograph: Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images
Photograph: Daniel Edyegu/Xinhua/Alamy Stock Photo
Photograph: Nigel Bowles/Alamy
Photograph: Nic Bothma/EPA
Photograph: Ed Wray/Getty Images
Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images
Photograph: Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA
Photograph: Graham Moore/Alamy
Photograph: Rajat Gupta/EPA
Photograph: Laura Lezza/Getty Images
Photograph: Jordi Chias/NPL/WWF
Photograph: SNH/PA
Photograph: Department of Marine and Coastal Resources/Reuters
Photograph: Andrew Kasuku/AFP/Getty Images
Photograph: Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA
Photograph: Christian Aslund/Greenpeace/PA
Photograph: Bobby Yip/Reuters