New Type of Pollution: Plastic Waste Is Already Incrusting in the Rocks

Scientists have identified a new type of plastic pollution in the sea - melted and incrusted in rock waste, Associated Press reported.

The phenomenon is noticed near Madeira in 2016. The now polluted area has increased and plastic stains are more. They are mostly blue and gray and in different sizes. Scientists called them "plastic crust".

Since 2016, a team from the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE) in Portugal has been monitoring the build-up of plastics along the shore of the volcanic island of Madeira, assessing their subsequent impact on the local ecosystem., Science Alert reported.

"The crusts likely originated by the crash of large pieces of plastic against the rocky shore, resulting in plastic crusting the rock in a similar way algae or lichens do," marine ecologist Ignacio Gestoso told Jake Buehler at Еarther.

Research has shown that the material is polyethylene - the most common plastic in the world.

The incrusts on the rocks are visible when there is a tide.

Scientists at the Portuguese Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences said they did not know where the plastic came from and how it would affect marine life.

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