A joint land-and-sea cleanup on Taiwan's Orchid Island pulled hundreds of kilos of trash off the coast, a small win for an island whose economy runs on its ocean.

• Volunteers cleared 379kg of waste from the shoreline and seabed near the Five Caves area.
• About half was recyclable material; the rest was ordinary garbage.
• Divers went underwater to cut loose abandoned fishing nets and ropes tangled in the coral reefs.
• Monsoon winds and ocean currents keep pushing trash onto the island, so cleanups have to be repeated.
• Everything collected was sorted and weighed so officials can trace where the trash comes from and cut it off at the source.

Outlook: Local officials want more of these combined beach-and-dive operations, but the bigger push is toward reducing plastic use so less waste washes up in the first place.