plastic bags

Vanuatu Beverage is partnering with two other local companies - toilet paper and plastics manufacturer Cellovila, and theatre company Wan Smol Bag - to clean up Mele Village and beach front.

Mele Village, which is located six kilometres outside Port Vila, has a population of around 7000 people, and one of the longest beaches in the country.

The companies have conducted similar clean-up efforts in two Vila suburbs, Tebakor and Malapoa.

Vanuatu Beverage's Business Development Manager Teiva Durand said the cleanup initiative was the first of many more.

The Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) latest report found seven bags per 100 metres of coastline cleaned compared to 11 in 2015.

It's the lowest number in 10 years and is being put down to the introduction of the 5p charge on single-use plastic bags.

But the bad news is that plastic bags are still harming marine life. Many animals try to eat them, mistaking them for food.