I saw that on the Malaysian peninsula. Chinese fishing villages that still speak an old dialect of Cantonese. It's worse in what looks to be the dry season and low tide like you have there.

The other issue is that it's not important to them to clean it up - as it was explained to me. I talked to a local while there and she explained that growing up she never saw it, but years away and she doesn't like it now but knows no one is interesting in picking it up. Partly because they don't seem to care in her opinion partly because they don't have trash service there anyhow, a lot of the trash is put there by the people that live right above it. So it seems like double work to them. Why spent weeks cleaning it up when they're dumping their daily trash there and have been for a hundred years - before plastic it wasn't really a problem of course.

There is another issue that many of these little above water fishing villages do have running water - but no sewage. I've seen toilets and sinks that look right down into the water. You DO NOT want to go down there.

I think an important thing to note was of the trash I saw, none of it had American or Chinese labels, instead was bahas-malay writing, or local brands. So it's a little hard to say "oh how awful! I need to do something" when unfortunately, they're doing a lot of it it to themselves directly or their countrymen.

It is sad thought, totally agree. And Borneo was awesome, but don't tell anyone!