The world's most polluted uninhabited island

A remote Pacific island has the highest density of plastic waste on the world with 17 tons of garbage covering everywhere.

Henderson Island in the southern Pacific is one of the most remote and remote islands in the world. The island is uninhabited and is only visited by scientists every 5 to 10 years for research purposes, according to Live Science. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists Henderson Island as a World Heritage List in 1988.

Although located far from residential areas, the beach of Henderson Island is littered with garbage . Scientists at the University of Tasmania, Australia's Institute of Antarctic and Marine Research (IMAS) estimate that 37.7 million pieces of plastic waste, equivalent to 17 tons, are scattered on the beach of Henderson island. The results of the study are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on May 15.

The beach on Henderson Island in the southern Pacific Ocean is covered with plastic waste.(Photo: Jennifer Lavers).

According to the research team, with a density of about 671 pieces of plastic per square meter, Henderson Island has become the place with the highest level of plastic pollution in the world.The main reason is that the island is located near the center of the Gyre ocean current in the southern Pacific , causing it to accumulate waste originating from South America and sea fishing vessels.

"Henderson Island is a good example of how plastic fragments are affecting the environment on a global scale , " said Jennifer Lavers, a member of the research team.

According to Lavers, Henderson Island has more than 3,750 pieces of new plastic waste every day. The volume of waste on the island can be much larger than estimated, because the study only limits pieces of waste larger than 2mm and 10cm deep in the sand beach.

"Plastic waste pieces can endanger many species if swallowed, creating a physical barrier to the beach for turtles like animals, reducing the diversity of coastal invertebrates. " Lavers said.

The beach is full of plastic waste on Henderson Island.