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PLASTIC ROCK HYBRID
Why in news?
Recently, A team of marine biologists during routine monitoring of marine litter in some of the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, have stumbled upon a piece of rock made from plastic. The rock which was discovered on a beach on Aves Island is the first such find from India.
More on news:
- A plastic-rock hybrid known as plastiglomerate is made out of sand, rock fragments, shells, and other things bound together by plastic.
- It is a brand-new type of plastic pollution that was identified by researchers in 2014. During normal monitoring of marine debris in some of the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a group of marine researchers found a plastic-made chunk of rock.
- “This is the first Plastiglomerate discovery from India. According to a laboratory analysis, it contains the two widely used plastic polymers polyethene and polyvinyl chloride, which were holding the smaller rock and sand particles together to form a rock that was roughly the same size as those found along railway tracks.
- Many seabirds, sea turtles, seals, and other marine mammals are killed every year as a result of ingesting plastic or becoming entangled in it as a result of the global disaster caused by plastic accumulation in oceans and on beaches.
- According to recent studies, the Bay of Bengal’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands are becoming more and more threatened by plastic pollution.
- According to a study published in Current Science in 2019, five islands in the archipelago, a collection of islands strewn over lakes, rivers, and the ocean had plastic from 10 or more Asian nations, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.