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Millions of pieces of plastic trash have washed onto an uninhabited island

More than 37 million pieces of plastic waste have washed onto an uninhabited island in the South Pacific.

More than 37 million pieces of plastic waste have washed onto an uninhabited island in the South Pacific.

With 17.6 tons of plastic waste, Henderson Island is home to the highest density of man-made debris ever recorded.

“The majority of items appear to be coming from land originally, which made its way into the ocean and that really falls on our shoulders to make a difference and to reduce our demand for these products,” Conservation scientist Jennifer Lavers told ABC News. She studied the island for three months in 2015.

More than 3,500 pieces of litter wash ashore each day, and the problem is worse than it looks: Lavers estimates that between 65 and 70 percent of the waste is buried beneath the surface.