Ocean garbage is a problem that's vast in scale and demands a rapid and ambitious response. China has recently handed out its first sentence in an ocean trash dumping case. Our Xing Ruinan has the story.

A modified cargo ship with 659 tons of garbage to be dumped. This is what the Marine Police found on an August night of 2016, off the coast of South China's Guangdong Province. More than 400 tons of trash had already been dumped into the Gaolan sea area nearby.

LI SUSPECT "My employer asked me to dump the trash into the sea. He told me not to do it during the day. Do it at night. That way I would be safe."

The world's oceans are in trouble. They are choking on our junk: grocery bags, soda bottles, and tons of used straws. The result? A frightening phenomenon that's killing marine life, warping ocean ecosystems and wreaking environmental havoc. The solid waste involved in this case contained multiple toxic substances, including lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury.

OFFICER TU MARINE POLICE OF GUANGDONG PROVINCE "Our tests showed the toxicity of the disposed garbage was astounding. These three culprits seriously contaminated the environment, so we made criminal allegations against them."

This is the first time China has issued penalties to perpetrators dumping waste into its oceans. Increasingly aware of the menace of ocean garbage, China is trying to tackle its waste problem. What's the country's biggest initiative by far? It has banned imported waste and foreign garbage. And, the country has mandated nearly 50 cities must begin garbage sorting and reach a 35% recycling rate by 2020. There are hopeful signs that stricter environmental regulations by Beijing will have a positive impact. Xing Ruinan, CGTN.