A LUMP of rubbish, including 115 plastic cups and two flip-flops, has been found inside a whale that washed ashore in Indonesia.

Wakatobi National Park chief Heri Santoso said rescuers found the rotting carcass of the 31-foot sperm whale on Monday near Kapota waters in the Southeast Sulawesi province.

Santoso said 13 pounds of rubbish were found in its stomach, including 15 plastic cups, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, two flip-flops, a nylon sack and more than 1000 other plastic pieces.

The cause of the death was still unknown and the carcass was to be buried yesterday without a necropsy because of its decayed condition.

Dwi Suprapti, a marine species conservation coordinator at WWF Indonesia, said: “Although we have not been able to deduce the cause of death, the facts that we see are truly awful.”