Plastic Legacy: Humankind's Trash Is Now a New Rock

Watch it! Stay in the red circle near the coffeepot when you drop out of cyberspace, eh! Good thing I wasn't standing over there filling my own mug. Never mind. Fill your plastic cup and nudge a virtual muffin onto your plastic plate, why don't'cha? Speaking of plastic...

A new material called plastiglomerate has been discovered on Hawaii's Kamilo Beach. The rock is the result of melted plastic trash on beaches mixing with sediment, basaltic lava fragments and organic debris, such as shells. 

The new material, dubbed plastiglomerate, will forever remain in Earth's rock record, and in the future may serve as a geological marker for humankind's impact on the planet, researchers say.

Plastic pollution is a worldwide problem affecting every waterway, sea and ocean in the world, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. First produced in the 1950s, plastic doesn't break down easily and is estimated to persist in the environment for hundreds to thousands of years. 

Plastic debris is also lightweight, allowing it to avoid being buried and becoming a part of the permanent geological record. 

Any questions from students?

Okay, but, like, if it's part of a big rock, eh, wouldn't you, like, think the weight of the rock would take first place in the weight division with the plastic running a dismally slow second...so therefore it would, like, sink?

See ya, eh!

Bob