Vietnam battles Ha Long Bay trash

TOPSHOT - This photo taken on May 17, 2023, shows workers picking up trash from Ha Long Bay in northeast Vietnam. More than seven million visitors came to visit the spectacular limestone karsts of Ha Long Bay, on Vietnam's northeastern coast, in 2022. Authorities hope that number will jump to eight and a half million this year. But the site's popularity, and the subsequent rapid growth of Ha Long City -- which is now home to a cable car, amusement park, luxury hotels and thousands of new homes -- severely damaged the ecosystem of the water. (Photo by Nam NGUYEN / AFP) / To go with 'VIETNAM-ENVIRONMENT-POLLUTION-TOURISM-PLASTIC', FOCUS by Alice PHILIPSON

SQUINTING in the bright light of a hot summer morning, Vu Thi Thinh perches on the edge of her small wooden boat and plucks a polystyrene block from the calm waters of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay.

It’s not yet 9am, but a mound of styrofoam buoys, plastic bottles and beer cans sit behind her.