Officials in Indonesia say a dead sperm whale that washed ashore in the east of the country had nearly six kilograms of plastic waste in its stomach.<br /> Rescuers from Wakatobi National Park found the rotting carcass of the nine and a half-meter whale on Monday near Kapota Island.<br />Park officials said the waste included more than a thousand pieces of plastic, including cups, bags, bottles, as well as a couple of flip-flops.<br />Marine conservation officials said it was not possible to determine if the plastic had caused the whale's death because of the animal's advanced state of decay.<br />According to the journal Science, Indonesia is the world's second-largest plastic polluter after China.<br />Nearly half of the three million tons of mismanaged plastic waste produced in the country each year ends up in the ocean. <br />
