Filipino residents furious as plastic pollution swamps city's river few days after cleanup

Residents were furious after plastic pollution blighted a city’s river just a few days after it had a major cleanup.

Dozens of locals had spent hours removing used bottles and packets from under the Hidalgo Bridge in Quiapo, Manila, the Philippines, at the end of last month.

But just a few days later the trash had returned and was causing a blockage and stagnant surface water.

Passerby Aristotle Ilumba filmed the scene on June 2 and urged authorities in the capital city to do more to fix the cause of the pollution.

He said: ''I was hopeful when the council hall organised a cleanup. But on my way to work today, I saw that the garbage is back.

''There are some people who just don’t care about the effect of rubbish on the environment. There needs to be a solution that stops pollution at the source.''