Plastiglomerate

Facts for Prelims
 

Plastiglomerate
 

News: A team of marine biologists (working in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) have stumbled upon a piece of rock (Plastiglomerate) made from plastic from a beach on Aves Island.
 

About:
 It is a rock composed of sand, rock fragments, shells and other materials held together by plastic. It is a new form of plastic pollution, which scientists described in 2014.
 Laboratory analysis showed that it was made of two very commonly used plastic polymers, polyethene and polyvinyl chloride.
 Plastic accumulation in oceans and on beaches has turned into a global crisis. Thousands of seabirds, turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it.