Plastic Rocks Found on Remote Brazilian Island

Brazilian researchers have discovered rocks formed from plastic debris in the permanently preserved area of Trindade Island, approximately 680 miles off the coast of Brazil. The island is a remote refuge for green turtles, which come by the thousands every year to lay their eggs. The only human inhabitants of the island are members of the Brazilian navy.

The team of researchers ran chemical tests on the rocks, called plasticglomerates, and determined that they were formed when fishing nets were dragged by the current and accumulated on the beach. It is believed that the nets melt when the temperature rises and they become embedded with the sedimentary granules and other debris on the beach.