Many years of uncontrolled dumping of plastic along Crete's coastlines, as well as in illegal landfills throughout the country, has resulted in one of the worst forms of pollution, according to environmental experts.

They say that millions of tiny plastic fibres are tainting beaches and even ending up in the food chain of fish and other marine life.

"We are really worried, as all the beaches we inspected revealed concentrations of these tiny plastic fibres to a greater or lesser extent," said Anastassia Miliou of the Institute of Marine & Environmental Research of the Aegean Sea.

The nonprofit conservation group based its conclusions on sand samples taken from 110 beaches in different parts of the Aegean.

"The fibres pose a growing threat to the health of human beings and ecosystems because they spread so easily," she said, noting that fish and other sea creatures are believed to digest a significant amount of these tiny shreds of plastic.

As to how the plastic ends up on coastlines and beaches, Mrs. Miliou blamed beachgoers who thoughtlessly discard plastic bags and bottles, but also on the widespread scourge of illegal landfills, where thousands dump their plastic and other waste.

Experts were surprised to find the plastic fibres in significant concentrations even on remote beaches, claiming they were shocked to see uninhabited beaches on islands like Crete containing a greater concentration of plastic fibres than many busy beaches.