Researchers have discovered a new form of plastic pollution in the form of thin films of plastic waste chemically bonded to rocks. The plastic-sheet-coated rocks were found near a creek in Hechi City, China, and the team also found thriving communities of microbes living on the plastic rocks. The research adds to scientists’ growing recognition that plastics have become part of Earth’s geology, and may contribute to defining the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch. Plastic rocks are concerning because they can shed microplastics into the environment and may be mistaken for food by animals.
Source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c00662