A remote and uninhabited south Pacific island that is a UNESCO World Heritage site, now has the highest density of plastic rubbish in the world.
An Australian researcher from the University of Tasmania published the study this week on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Conservation biologist Doctor Jennifer Lavers spoke to Sela Jane Aholelei about her findings.
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Plastic rubbish at sea. Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Cesar Harada