塑胶垃圾已广泛蔓延至各类海洋生态系统中，甚至促使学者提出「塑胶世」的概念。近期研究人员在日本南部琉球群岛的冲绳海滩调查时，首次发现塑胶与珊瑚骨骼紧密融合的全新复合体，并将这种物质命名为「塑胶珊瑚」（plasticoral）。光谱分析与微电脑断层扫描显示，常见家用塑胶聚合物融化后渗入了珊瑚骨骼的微小孔隙中，彼此紧密结合而无法分离。

过去虽曾发现塑胶附著在岩石或潮池生物表面，但这是科学界首次记录到塑胶与珊瑚骨骼融合的现象。被冲上岸的珊瑚碎屑在冲回大海后，往往是新珊瑚附著的稳固基质，亦是众多小型海洋生物躲避强流与捕食者的重要庇护所。尽管塑胶珊瑚对活体珊瑚生态系统的确切影响尚待厘清，但已知塑胶溶出的化学物质可能抑制珊瑚繁殖，且微粒可能携带病原体。

科学家推测，海水温度或紫外线辐射不足以达到融化塑胶的高温，因此海滩营火极有可能是促成塑胶融化并与珊瑚骨骼融合的主要成因。即便在看似未受破坏的原始海滩，随意弃置的垃圾与营火活动也可能促成此类非预期的生态污染。这项发现凸显了塑胶污染形式的演变，进一步证实人类活动对海洋地质与生态环境带来的深远影响。

Plastic pollution has permeated marine ecosystems worldwide, prompting some scientists to designate the ongoing epoch as the 'Plastocene.' Researchers surveying beaches on Okinawa in Japan's Ryukyu Islands recently identified a novel form of environmental contamination dubbed 'plasticoral,' where plastic waste fuses with coral skeletons. Micro-CT scans and spectroscopic tests revealed that polymers from common household plastics melted into the microscopic pores of coral gravel, forming inseparable conglomerates.

Although plastic has previously been found enmeshed with rocks or forming coatings on intertidal organisms, this study represents the first documented case of plastic fusing with corals. Coral rubble washed ashore plays a vital ecological role when returned to the sea, providing a foundation for juvenile coral settlement and creating protective microhabitats for marine species. The full impact of plasticorals remains unclear, but leached chemical additives are known to suppress coral reproduction and fragments may transmit dangerous pathogens.

Researchers suspect beach bonfires are the primary mechanism behind the formation of plasticorals, as ambient ocean temperatures and ultraviolet light are insufficient to melt polymers. Discarded plastic subjected to fire heat on beaches can easily fuse with surrounding coral fragments, even within seemingly pristine coastal areas. This phenomenon underscores the pervasive and evolving threat of anthropogenic plastic debris, highlighting unexpected pathways through which human waste integrates into natural marine substrates.