{
  "id": 15788743,
  "title": "Limited waste collection services in rural communities linked to high microplastic levels in Mekong River",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/limited-waste-collection-services-in-rural-communities-linked-to-high",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-20T19:10:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-limited-rural-communities-linked-high.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Plastics are accumulating in ecosystems around the world, and their tiny fragments can collect and carry chemical pollutants and pathogens into plants, animals and people. When fishermen in Cambodia's Mekong River became alarmed about the amounts of plastic they were hauling up with each catch, they reached out to scientists for help.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}