Indonesia produces an estimated 1.3 million tons of waste every year. A British diver recently filmed underwater footage of plastic waste, filling the waters off the coast of Bali, one of Indonesia's most popular tourist destinations. The video brought renewed attention to the problem. CGTN's Silkina Ahluwalia brings us more on the efforts being made to clean up waters.

Plastic waste is a mounting problem globally. In Indonesia, the island of Bali recently declared a trash emergency.

Tonnes of plastic are littered on the island's pristine beaches. At least 80 percent of that ends up in the ocean harming marine life and threatening the ecosystem.

Diver, Rich Horner, saw that devastation firsthand. His video, which was uploaded on Facebook, shows Rich swimming in a sea of plastic waste. It has garnered nearly 1.5 million views and has been shared more than 30 thousand times.

RICH HORNER DIVER "When we pulled into the bay on the boat, I was there to hopefully film the Manta rays. And you could see this massive slick so I jumped in and I knew I had to film it because I've got friends that are doing research on the island on the plastic problem and the micro plastic so I knew I had to film it but when I was actually filming it, swimming through it, it was sad. You see this much plastic and you know it's not good and you know it's going to be causing problems."

The Indonesian government has pledged to increase its efforts to reduce the problem. They have set a target of cutting down marine debris by 70 percent by 2025.

SILKINA AHLUWALIA BALI, INDONESIA "Indonesia produces 175 thousand tons of waste every single day. The main problem is the government does not have any proper waste management or educational programs aimed at its citizens."

Trash Hero is a local environmental group working to transform that reality. Their aim is to bring communities together to reduce waste.

Its founder Wayan hosts weekly clean ups in different beaches and locations around the island of Bali. Hundreds of people come together to be a part of this event each week.

WAYAN AKSARA CHAIRMAN, TRASH HERO SABA "Every week we get more volunteers involved in our movement and that is our only hope. Our motto is We Clean, We Educate, We Change. We keep pushing that mindset to schools to create a new habit but we do it through these events because we know that children love to learn through experience, not cooped up in a room."

By actively engaging communities through these hands-on activities, Trash Hero continues to teach both adults and children the importance of having environmental values.

The group believes motivating people to become Trash Heroes in their everyday lives removes the barrier for change and inspires them to understand that small steps can lead to big changes.

Silkina Ahluwalia, CGTN, Bali, Indonesia.