Yes, trash issues reach far beyond news and Asia contributes to an enormous amount of plastic waste. They love single-use styrofoam plates and plastic mugs, bags... you name it! In addition to their growing problem the west (as far I know USA & UK) export waste to Malaysia, now that China has stopped receiving it. Trash is a good indicator of the real system that is running the world; no one is guilty, no one can change anything...
However there is some good news, I listened to one interview the other day and as they said the scientists have found a worm that is able to digest plastic. The only problem is that is tiny and it takes months :) Even so, it is a start! I also read the other day that one Japanese guy developed some nanotechnology to clean the water. So something is happening, but despite the development, we should worship our planet and treat it right. That would be the end of capitalism, which is a scary thing! I believe cryptocurrency is a way to go forward and so is the AI. All I hope is that the AI code will include the "save the planet" notification :)