Researchers have warned that an uninhabited island in the South Pacific, one of the world’s most remote places, is one of the worst affected by pollution from plastic debris.

Dr Jennifer Lavers said the highest density of plastic debris ever recorded were found on the shores of Henderson Island, one of the Pitcairn Islands, following a recent expedition. Dr Lavers estimated that 17 tonnes, or 18.7 tons, of plastic waste had been swept onto the shores of Henderson Island from South America and fishing ships by currents in the Pacific Ocean.

“What’s happened on Henderson Island shows there’s no escaping plastic pollution even in the most distant parts of our oceans,” said Dr Lavers of the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania in a statement. “Far from being the pristine ‘deserted island’ that people might imagine of such a remote place, Henderson Island is a shocking but typical example of how plastic debris is affecting the environment on a global scale.

This video shows the conditions on East Beach on Henderson Island.