MIAMI - One of the planet's most remote islands is polluted with the highest density of plastic particles ever reported, with more than 3,500 pieces washing up daily, researchers said on Monday.

Henderson Island is uninhabited, and lies far out in the South Pacific - east of New Zealand and west of Chile - some 5,000 kilometers from the nearest major land mass.

This 3,700 hectare limestone atoll, one of the United Kingdom's Pitcairn Islands is prized for its biodiversity.