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Plastics, “yesterday's hero... today's villain” or “the contemporary symbol of modernity,” were invented in the early 20th century by Leo Hendrik Baekeland from macromolecules (resins, elastomers, and artificial fibres) of formaldehyde and phenol. This synthetic organic polymer took hold of daily human life and transformed the modern world with an ever-widening range of applications. Plastics are the third most-widely manufactured material in the world after cement and steel, and they have become widespread in our society with excessive production and consumption to meet demand. Plastics use is so dominant that they are inappropriately considered essential in the world consumers marketplace. Plastics are a clear indicator of the Anthropocene and can be considered the marker of the upper subdivision of this stage: the Plasticene.
•Plastics presence have been suggested to indicate a new stage/age (or substage): The Plasticene.•The Plasticene began in 1907 and has been increasingly since 1950.•Lack of consensus on how to define this time category.•New forms of pollution as the result of plastics' interaction with different elements.•A new rock nomenclature is proposed.