How is there plastic on uninhabited islands?

The more plastic we produce, the more plastic ends up in our beautiful seas. Carried on the wind and by the flow of ocean currents, plastics have invaded ecosystems around the globe. Even uninhabited islands in the Pacific and Arctic are getting inundated with plastic pollution.



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The rubbish is carried there on the powerful South Pacific Gyre, a giant current that moves anti-clockwise across the ocean. It is believed that most of the plastic is from South America or from passing ships.

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(By comparison, Manhattan is 22 square miles in size.) Henderson island sits in the path of the South Pacific Gyre, a major oceanic current. Such currents are known to accumulate plastic, reaching densities 2.3 million pieces per square mile.

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Henderson was colonised by Polynesians between the 12th and 15th centuries, but since then the island has remained uninhabited. The inhospitable nature of the island, together with its remoteness and inaccessibility, has so far effectively ensured its conservation.

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South Pacific currents dump as many as 40 million items of plastic and rubbish on the shores of Henderson Island each year, earning it the name of the most polluted island in the world.

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Located in the South Pacific, Henderson Island is one of the worst places affected by plastic pollution, holding the highest density of plastic debris in the world. Around 3 500 to 13 500 new plastic items wash up here every day. The island's East Beach spans 2km, and is polluted by 30 million plastic items.

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Kamilo Beach, located on the south-eastern tip of Hawaii's Big Island, has been dubbed one of the most plastic-polluted spots on the planet.

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Lying between California and Hawaii, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is three times the size of France and is the world's biggest ocean waste repository, with 1.8 billion pieces of floating plastic which kill thousands of marine animals each year.

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80 percent of plastic in the ocean is estimated to come from land-based sources, with the remaining 20 percent coming from boats and other marine sources. These percentages vary by region, however.

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Bouvet Island is one of the most remote islands in the world.

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North Sentinel Island, Andaman Islands This island topped the list of forbidden islands. Situated in the Bay of Bengal, the North Sentinel Island is best known for its famous inhabitants: the Sentinelese. These are a small tribe who have been residing on the island for more than 60,000 years!

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