Kendall Jenner defends 'bottle cap challenge' after plastic pollution row

‘Pollution in one video,’ writes one Instagram user on the star’s clip of the challenge

Kendall Jenner has defended herself after receiving criticism for her recent participation in the “bottle cap challenge”, which saw several critics accusing the model of polluting the sea.

Earlier this week, the reality star responded to fellow model Hailey Bieber’s nomination to do the challenge – a viral trend which is seeing celebrities including Ryan Reynolds and Justin Bieber kicking open drink bottles.

In a video posted to Instagram, Kendall can be seen approaching someone filming her while driving a green jet ski and kicking the blue-coloured cap off a see-through bottle with her toes.

The video is played in slow motion and sees the runway star successfully complete the challenge, with the cap flying off out of shot and presumably into the sea.

While several A-listers, such as model Karlie Kloss and actor Vanessa Hudgens praised the star on her athleticism to complete the challenge – the clip has been views more than 25m times – several of Jenner’s fans have pointed out the environmental dangers of such an action.

“Now your bottle cap is in the ocean,” one commented on the post.

Another added: “Pollution in one video.”

One asked: “Did you pick the cap up out of the water after you filmed this or did you leave it for a turtle to choke on?”

In response, the 25-year-old commented on the clip “cap recovered” with a kissing heart emoji. However, several users are dubious as to the validity of Jenner’s statement.

Jenner is the latest celebrity to take part in the “bottle cap challenge”.

Carey recently posted a video of herself taking part in the “bottle cap challenge” and seemingly removing the cap not with her foot but "with her voice".

Actor Jason Statham meanwhile removes a bottle cap with a kick, while Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds fails to complete the challenge when he kicks over his own branded bottle of Aviation gin.

Earlier this year, the Plastic Rivers report from Earthwatch Europe and Plastic Oceans UK found that drinks bottles are the most prevalent form of plastic pollution in European waterways.

According to the report, plastic bottles make up 14 per cent of all identifiable plastic litter items found in European freshwater environments.

Meanwhile, marine environmental organisation Seas At Risk states that plastic caps are among the top five most harmful ocean waste items.

In summer 2016, over 10,000 bottle caps were collected along the entire Dutch North Sea Coast during the Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour. The number of bottle caps found on the beach per kilometre numbered between 20 and 128.

Over the last 30 years, more than 20 million bottle caps and lids were found during beach cleaning activities around the world, according to the organisation.