A Coca-Cola bottle from 2002 was found on Robinson Crusoe Island, a World Biosphere Reserve, in Chile. These discarded pieces of packaging were collected in a new macro-study that looked at the origin of plastic bottle pollution on beaches and cities along Latin America’s Pacific coastline. It found that across the region, Central American countries are most affected by coastal plastic pollution, and underscores the urgency of confronting this major problem. An environmentalist searches for plastic waste and packaging dumped on El Esterón beach in Intipuca, El Salvador, in October 2024. This study reveals surprising data, given that more than half of the bottles and caps collected had visible dates.