Lima, with a population of 9 million people, is home to one-third of Peru’s population. But the coastal city does not have a single sewage treatment facility. With no safe place for raw sewage to go, most of it ends up in the ocean.

Almost as big as the pollution itself, is the apathy that seems to exist towards the problem. Until last year, Peru has never had an environment ministry.

Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo reports on the realities that make going to the beach in Lima a dangerous proposition.

Tags: beach, costa verde, environment, health, pacific ocean, pollution