SANUKI, Japan >> Three bottlenose dolphins kept in an oceanfront facility in Sanuki, Kagawa prefecture, have gone viral for picking up trash drifting in the ocean.

The animals reside at the Japan Dolphin Center, where visitors can learn about dolphin ecology and swim with them.

Plastic bags, bottles and packages flow into the dolphins’ space through gaps in netting or from above the enclosure, despite staff cleaning the area each morning. The dolphins grab the trash with their mouths and take it to staff members.

After a dolphin was sickened after swallowing trash, staff trained the animals to exchange trash for food. The dolphins are now retrieving plastic debris as small as 1/2 inch.

A video of the dolphins picking up trash has gone viral on social media.