Guatemala’s Las Vacas river is full of plastic. According to The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch NGO working to remove plastic from the world’s waters, more than 20,000 tonnes of plastic enter Las Vegas each year. Waste generated primarily in Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala, ends up in the Caribbean Sea.
In 2022, The Ocean Cleanup installed a trash trap fence called the Interceptor Trashfence. A large amount of plastic was captured, but the first attempt was deemed unsuccessful because the pressure of the flash floods had physically damaged the structure and prevented it from holding much plastic.