A BOLTON firm has answered a "call to arms" in the war against plastic.

Toughsheet Building Products is behind a clean-up on a UNESCO World Heritage site Henderson Island. It is one of the world's most remote places on the planet which has the highest density of plastic rubbish anywhere in the world.

Nearly nearly 18 tonnes of plastic are piling up on an island that is said to be mostly untouched by humans.

Manager director of Toughsheet said: "The team is comprised of 12 people of varying useful backgrounds.

"We have a representative acting on behalf of both Valpak and Toughsheet on the expedition, James Beard who reports back to us on a regular basis. Toughsheet and Valpak are working together as one of the main sponsors."

He added: "It’s important for us to be part of this expedition as we want to show that we really care about the environment we want to quantify the amount of waste and the speed it is building up, we also want to show how failure to recycle plastics is doing to our world and the beautiful wildlife.

"The sheer magnitude of the expedition shows how crucial it is to simply put your waste plastic in the recycling bins provided everywhere so companies like us can put them to use. We love to see the updates from James, the crew are all doing such a fantastic job."

The expedition has not been without its adventures as the boat taking the team to the island got its propeller caught on some rope that was in the reef.

This meant that half the team had to spend the night on the island as the boat could not get free.

Fortunately two marines were accompanying the team.Since landing on the South Pacific Island, the team is aiming to clear 10 tonnes of plastic waste from the island’s beaches and provide scientific data to monitor the rate of plastic accumulation and the impact it has upon the local wildlife.

Ocean currents collect waste from every corner of the globe and deposit it upon Henderson Island’s beaches. An estimated 38 million pieces of plastic litter the Island, with up to 13,000 new pieces washed up each day.

Already the team has cleared 300m of beach ­— collecting 1.5 tonnes of washed up rubbish.