Le spiagge di Henderson Island, una disabitata isoletta del Pacifico meridionale, hanno un triste record: il più alto livello conosciuto di inquinamento da plastica nel mondo.
Gli scienziati dell'australiana University of Tasmania e della britannica Royal Society for the Protection of Birds hanno censito i rifiuti di plastica sulle spiagge dell'isola nell'arcipelago di Pitcairn, territorio britannico d'oltremare, designata nel 1988 sito UNESCO del patrimonio mondiale perché è indisturbata da attività umane e ospita specie uniche di uccelli e di piante.
Gli animali sono costretti a convivere con i rifiuti
I ricercatori hanno trovato in media 239 pezzi di plastica per metro quadrato, nonostante l'isola disti più di 4'500 km dal più vicino insediamento umano rilevante - per un totale stimato di 37,7 milioni di pezzi e un peso totale di 17,6 tonnellate.
L'alto livello di contaminazione è dovuto in parte alla corrente che circola in senso antiorario detta South Pacific Gyre, che trasporta rifiuti dal Sud America.
ATS/M. Ang.
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