The image apparently vanished as a result of an update to the social media platform that shortened the t.co links used to share images

If you happen to be near the iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, then you stand a chance of getting a photo taken with a ‘giant human poo’ which has been dumped on the shore to mark World Environment Day on Monday. You may well think that plopping a poo on the coastline isn’t exactly a good look on a day designed to draw attention to protecting nature and the planet, but it’s actually made of rescued plastic from south east Asia, and intended to spread a pretty important message. On a webpage explaining their publicity stunt, the New Zealand-based company Better Packaging said: “We’re kicking up a stink because humanity has a problem. We just can’t seem to stop making more and more new plastic, most of it never gets recycled and far too much of it ends up in our oceans. “Basically, we treat plastic like s***.” We see what you did there. They continued: “This giant poop represents the amount of plastic that enters the ocean every 30 seconds. Scary huh. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Most of it enters via land, and most of that from Asia. These regions don’t have any formal waste management or recycling infrastructure – plastic just gets thrown ‘away’, buried or burnt. “Eventually, with the next monsoon rains, that plastic will get washed into a ditch, then a stream, a river, and then the ocean. We want to stop that happening!” Hence the four-metre high turd, which is made mostly of recycled plastics and second-hand fishing nets, with a wooden tree structure at its base to “keep it upright”. You wouldn’t want a floppy plop, after all (sorry). The artwork – if we can call it that – is titled "Plastic Pile of S***, 2023". Its unveiling follows a report by the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP) in May which it said plastic pollution could fall by as much as 80 per cent by 2040 if both countries and companies make “deep” shifts in policies and markets through the use of “existing technologies”. “The way we produce, use and dispose of plastics is polluting ecosystems, creating risks for human health and destabilising the climate,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UNEP. Oh, and if you fancy witnessing the ‘excrement’ but are nowhere near Australia, then you might be in luck, as Better Packaging have said they’d “love to take it ‘on tour’” after going into temporary storage. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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A wildfire near the northeastern Greek region of Evros which has been raging for 11 days is unlikely to be brought under control, officials have said. Deputy governor Dimitris Petrovich told national broadcaster ERT wind could cause the flames to spread even further. “Unfortunately, we see that the Dadia front cannot be contained and brought under control,” he said, describing the conditions for firefighters as “difficult”. The European Commission said the blaze, which is raging near the city of Alexandroupolis, is the largest single fire in the history of the EU. Over 400 firefighters, six planes and four helicopters were working to put out the blaze in Evros, the fire department said. Evacuation orders have been issued for a village in Evros and another village in neighbouring Rodopi. The wildfire has been blamed for 20 of the 21 wildfire-related deaths in Greece last week. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which has scorched more than 80,000 hectares (197,000 acres) of land, including in Dadia national park, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Major wildfires have also been seen on the outskirts of the capital Athens and on the Aegean island of Andros. Some 260 firefighters, one plane and three helicopters tackled the blaze on the outskirts of Athens, which burned into the Mount Parnitha national park. Meanwhile, a third fire broke out on Saturday on the island of Andros in the Cyclades archipelago, which is suspected to have been caused by a lightning strike. Greece suffers major wildfires every year and imposes wildfire prevention regulations, typically from the start of May to the end of October, limiting activities such as the burning of dried vegetation and the use of outdoor barbecues. By Friday, fire department officials had arrested 163 people on fire-related charges since the start of the fire prevention season, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said, including 118 for negligence and 24 for deliberate arson. The police had made a further 18 arrests, he said. Last month, thousands of people were evacuated from towns and villages across Greece after wildfires ravaged the country. Fires spread through Corfu, Rhodes, Evia, Crete and the northern Peloponnese region in Greece. The most serious fire in the country was on the island of Rhodes, where some 19,000 people had been evacuated from several locations. Local police said 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels. The region’s deputy mayor said the fires in Corfu were caused by arson. Read More Greece reinforces firefighting forces to tackle massive blaze in the country's northeast Massive wildfire in northeastern Greece persists for 11th day despite European firefighting efforts Greek fire officials arrest 2 for arson as multiple wildfires continue to burn across the country Ore Oduba and wife Portia ‘stranded’ in Greece without nappies for children Court axes lawsuit from Wyoming students trying to bar trans woman from sorority Official says the UN remains committed to helping reach a deal healing Cyprus' ethnic split

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