
An uninhabited Pacific island thousands of miles away from civilisation has become the most polluted place on Earth as thousands of bits plastic rubbish wash up on its shores.

Henderson Island, a coral atoll in the south Pacific, is just 14.5 square miles (37.5 square km), and the nearest cities are some 3,000 miles (4,800 km) away.

The island, a territory of the UK, is a sanctuary to a host of threatened species including the Henderson Petrel and Henderson Crake, and its beaches are a nesting site for the endangered green turtle.

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One researcher claims that a hermit crab that has made its home in a blue Avon cosmetics pot is a 'common sight' on the island. The plastic is very old and toxic, and is damaging to much of the island's diverse wildlife

PLASTIC IN THE OCEANS Experts estimate there are five trillion pieces of plastic litter floating on the world's oceans, discarded by a throw-away society and killing countless animals a year. It has been estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals. Plastic and other litter can become concentrated in areas called gyres as a result of marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents. Advertisement

But human activity has turned what should be a pristine island paradise into a rubbish tip.

More than 37 million bits of plastic junk – weighing some 17 tons - have washed up on its shores, threatening the island's wildlife.

In all, every square metre of beach has hundreds of bits of plastic – including toothbrushes, buoys, old fishing nets, plastic bags and cosmetic pots mostly produced in the last few decades and dropped by people thousands of miles away.

While the surface is cluttered with plastic junk, it is just the tip of the iceberg.

Sixty-eight per cent of the plastic was buried under 10cm (4 inches) of sand.

Jennifer Lavers of the University of Tasmania and Alexander Bond of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds carried out the landmark research project.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they said: 'Here we document the amount of debris and rate of accumulation on Henderson Island, a remote, uninhabited island in the South Pacific.

'The density of debris was the highest reported anywhere in the world, up to 671.6 items per meter squared on the surface of the beaches.'

The remote islands have never had a 'clean up' operation, so the levels of plastic are an indication of how plastic is piling up worldwide, carried by ocean currents to land on Henderson's shores.

Human activity has turned what should be a pristine island paradise into a rubbish tip. More than 37 million bits of plastic junk – weighing some 17 tons - have washed up on its shores, threatening the island's wildlife

Henderson island (pictured) is a territory of the UK and a sanctuary to a host of threatened species including the Henderson Petrel and Henderson Crake, and its beaches are a nesting site for the endangered green turtle

Dr Lavers told the Daily Mail that she had studied marine plastics on remote islands for the best part of a decade.

'I've seen a lot of plastics on my travels – some of the most remote places – but Henderson Island tops the cake.

'The quantity of plastic on Henderson Island is truly alarming and takes your breath away.'

A study in 1991 of plastic pollution on two other remote atolls, Ducie and Aeno in the area was described as 'frighteningly large' – but is likely to represent how much plastic pollution existed nearly three decades ago.

But this was less than 1 piece of plastic per square metre – vastly outstripped by Henderson Island now.

The researchers estimate that - given the islands experience similar conditions - since 1991, plastic levels have increase each year by between 7 and 80 per cent.

In all, every square metre of beach has hundreds of bits of plastic – including toothbrushes, buoys, old fishing nets, plastic bags and cosmetic pots mostly produced in the last few decades and dropped by people thousands of miles away

The island is 'extremely difficult' for humans to set foot on: Dr Lavers had to take five flights from Tasmania and travel for three days on a chartered ship from French Polynesia to reach it.

The nearest inhabited island 60 miles (100 km) away – Pitcairn – has around 30 people on it. The big population centres of Japan, The USA, Korea and Chile are thousands of miles away.

No public access is allowed, and only researchers are allowed on its shores.

Dr Lavers said: 'It's well off the tourist track, it's not on any shipping or transport routes and there are no commercial fishing operations in the area.

Henderson Island is uninhabited and thousands of miles away from civilisation. A new study has found it to be the most polluted place on Earth as thousands of bits plastic rubbish wash up on its shores

Now researchers have documented the terrifying extent of the island's plastic pollution for the first time. While the surface is cluttered with plastic junk, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Sixty-eight per cent of the plastic was buried under 10cm (4 inches) of sand

'It's almost off the map, it's like it doesn't exist.' She said the last visit by researchers was in 2011 who were investigating a failed attempt to kill rats on the island by dropping poisoned bait by air.

The researchers were shocked by the amount of plastic they saw.

Dr Lavers said: 'We could not go all that way and not do something about it.'

And every day that passes more plastic piles up – with hundreds of more items washing up every week.

Speaking of the 'common sight' on the island of a hermit crab that has made its home in a blue Avon cosmetics pot, she said: 'At first sight it looks really cute.

'The plastic is very old and brittle and toxic. To have wildlife living inside our waste, that's not something we want to continue.'

The remote islands have never had a 'clean up' operation, so the levels of plastic are an indication of how plastic is piling up worldwide, carried by ocean currents to land on Henderson's shores

The island is 'extremely difficult' for humans to set foot on: Researchers had to take five flights from Tasmania and travel for three days on a chartered ship from French Polynesia to reach it

Dr Lavers said that plastic pollution on beaches is likely to affect rare green turtle nesting sites on the beach as plastic litter on beaches deters pregnant females from laying their eggs.

She added: 'We don't want our beaches covered in plastic for turtles and so many other reasons.'

As well as surface plastic, she said 'here are enormous quantities of plastic buried on the beach.

'If you look at the beach and know it's dirty you have to know you're looking at the tip of the iceberg.'

Asked what the individual could do, Dr Lavers said: 'Once plastic is in the ocean, it's virtually impossible with current technology to get it out.

'The focus needs to be on preventing it from getting it there in the first place.'

Henderson Island, a coral atoll in the south Pacific, is just 14.5 square miles (37.5 square km), and the nearest cities are some 3,000 miles (4,800 km) away

Education to stop people littering on beaches was one thing. Another would be for individuals to use less plastic – and switch to less harmful alternatives.

She said: 'You need to bring it down to a realistic level with realistic, manageable targets or people get overwhelmed and shut off.

For example, Dr Lavers saw large numbers of plastic toothbrushes washed up on the island.

Toothbrushes made from bamboo and wood fibre are available for the same price as plastic ones – but will not pollute the earth for hundreds of years once we have finished with them.

Another example was taking mesh bags – available from a company called Onya – that we could use instead of the flimsy plastic bags provided in supermarkets for loose fruit and vegetables.

In conclusion, Dr Lavers and her colleague Alexander Bond said: 'Rarely visited by humans, Henderson Island and other remote islands may be sinks for some of the world's increasing volume of waste.'