The Toroa or Royal Albatross is the world’s largest flying bird – and an endangered species native to New Zealand. When one of the majestic birds washed up on the East Coast in obvious distress last year, the family that discovered it took it to the vet, but the three-year-old bird died a few days later. It had swallowed a 500ml plastic drink bottle, which it probably mistook for a squid. Nine out of ten seabirds have eaten plastic and eight million metric tonnes of plastic make it into the ocean every year. So is there anything that can be done to stop the problem?

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