Omar Khalid
Plastic has become an integral part of our daily lives, from household items to industrial components. The mass production of plastic items began in the 1940s and 1950s, and since then, plastic has transformed various industries, including packaging, product design, and retail. While plastic is designed to be durable, its widespread use has led to significant environmental concerns. It can take hundreds of years for plastic to degrade. Understanding the ageing process of plastic is crucial to predicting its lifespan and ensuring its proper use and disposal to minimise negative impacts on the environment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First use of plastic | 1600 BCE |
| First modern synthetic plastics | 1855/1856 |
| First fully synthetic polymer | 1869 |
| First synthetic resins | 1907 |
| First plastic bottles | 1973 |
| Annual global plastic production | 460 million metric tonnes |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic's origins
Plastic is a synthetic or semi-synthetic material that uses polymers as its main ingredient. The polymers are usually made of carbon and give plastic its distinctive plasticity, allowing it to be moulded into any shape.
The story of plastic goes back to the Stone Age when craftsmen made combs out of animal bone. For most of history, combs were made of materials such as bone, tortoiseshell, ivory, rubber, iron, tin, gold, silver, lead, reeds, wood, glass, and porcelain.
In the 1840s, American Charles Goodyear and British Thomas Hancock patented vulcanised rubber, a natural polymer derived from the rubber tree in the Amazon basin. This was an important step in the history of plastics, but the big breakthrough came in 1907 with the invention of Bakelite by Leo Baekeland. Bakelite was the first fully synthetic plastic, derived from fossil fuels, specifically phenol, an acid derived from coal tar.
Prior to the invention of Bakelite, humans had been using naturally derived plastics for centuries. For example, medieval craftsmen made lantern windows out of translucent slices of animal horn, which is made of keratin, a carbon-nitrogen polymer. The Olmecs in Mexico played with balls made of natural rubber around 1500 years before Christ.
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Plastic's environmental impact
Plastic is a relatively new invention, with its widespread adoption taking place over the past century. Its versatility and low production cost have made it one of the most widely used materials in modern times. However, this widespread adoption has had consequences for our health and the environment.
Plastic is now found in almost every ecosystem on the planet, from the Antarctic tundra to tropical coral reefs. It has even entered the fossil record. Plastic pollution poses a threat to marine life and human health via the food chain. Marine species are at risk of ingesting plastic, suffocating, or becoming entangled in plastic pollution. Research indicates that more than 1,500 species in marine and terrestrial environments are known to ingest plastics.
The durability of plastics means that discarded items can remain in the environment for generations. Plastic pollution can fragment into smaller pieces known as microplastics, which range in size from five millimeters to one nanometer. Microplastics can be found in the oceans, air, and ecosystems, and their health implications for humans are not yet fully known. In addition, the production of plastic contributes to climate change, with annual emissions related to plastic production in the EU amounting to around 13.4 million tonnes of CO2.
There is a growing awareness of the environmental concerns surrounding plastic, and this is leading to new advancements in recycling, the use of renewable raw materials, and the development of biodegradable options. Bioplastics, in particular, have experienced significant advancements within the realm of green chemistry. The EU's Zero Pollution Action Plan includes reducing plastic litter at sea and microplastics released into the environment.
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Plastic's role in modern life
Plastic is a word derived from the ancient Greek term "plastikos", which means "pliable and easily shaped". Plastics are polymers, a chemical class of materials composed of long chains of molecules known as monomers. The process of combining these monomers through heat and pressure is called polymerisation.
The history of plastic dates back to centuries before the Common Era, when humans utilised the plastic properties of materials like rubber, amber, horn, and tortoise shell. These early plastics were derived from non-fossil raw materials and required minimal processing. However, the significant growth in plastic usage occurred in the late 19th century with the development of synthetic plastics. One of the first commercially successful synthetic polymers was Parkesine, patented in England in 1856.
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age", highlighting the influence and prevalence of plastics in modern life. Plastics have revolutionised various industries, including healthcare, transportation, food preservation, and construction. In healthcare, plastics are used in sterile packaging, disposable syringes, and life-saving medical devices such as heart valves, catheters, and IV tubes. Plastic components in vehicles, such as lightweight auto parts, have contributed to reduced fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions. Additionally, plastic packaging plays a crucial role in extending the shelf life of food products, preventing food waste, and maintaining food safety.
Plastics are also essential in modern technology, enabling the creation of resilient devices such as cell phones, tablets, computers, and televisions. They provide protection in various forms, including car airbags, seat belts, sports equipment, and gear for firefighters and other first responders.
Despite the numerous benefits of plastics, their environmental impact has become a significant concern. Plastic pollution in oceans, landscapes, and ecosystems has led to a growing awareness of the need for sustainable solutions. The focus has shifted from eliminating plastics to finding innovative ways to manage their lifecycle, including enhanced recycling methods and the development of biodegradable options.
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Plastic's health implications
Plastic is a relatively new invention, with its widespread adoption and incorporation into everyday products taking place over the past century or so. The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age" due to the influence and ubiquity of this material. Plastic is now an integral part of our daily lives, from pillows and toothbrushes to keyboards and food containers. However, our widespread adoption of plastics has had significant consequences for our health and the environment.
Plastics pose health risks at every stage of their lifecycle, from the extraction of fossil fuels to production, manufacturing, use, recycling, and disposal. The health implications of plastic can be direct or indirect, and they affect not only the environment but also human health across generations. One of the critical health concerns related to plastics is the presence of harmful chemicals, such as bisphenols and phthalates, which are used as plasticizers to increase flexibility in products like Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC). These chemicals have been linked to severe adverse health outcomes, including cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption, and reproductive issues. Endocrine disruptors, for instance, can affect the same biological receptors as hormones in our bodies, leading to potential problems with brain development in children, low birth weights, impaired fertility, and increased risk of maternal breast cancer.
Additionally, the ubiquitous nature of plastics has led to the presence of microplastics in our food, water, and air. Microplastics are tiny particles that break off from larger plastic items, and they can infiltrate various parts of the body, including the lungs and brain tissue. While the full health implications of microplastics are not yet fully understood, they may act as carriers of toxic chemicals, posing additional risks.
The production and use of plastics have also contributed significantly to environmental pollution, impacting our landscapes, oceans, and ecosystems. This pollution has entered the fossil record, and there is growing awareness of the need for improved recycling, the development of biodegradable options, and the utilization of renewable raw materials.
Furthermore, the impact of plastic pollution extends beyond environmental concerns. Plastic waste, such as polyethylene shopping bags and polystyrene food containers, has led to the degradation of our oceans and ecosystems. This degradation has far-reaching consequences, affecting biodiversity, climate change, and human rights.
Overall, the health implications of plastics are diverse and significant, affecting individuals, communities, and the environment. While plastics have revolutionized various industries, addressing their potential health hazards requires urgent action, including the promotion of plastic substitutes and the safe disposal of plastic waste.
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Plastic's future
Plastic has been in existence for about 70 years, and in that time, it has transformed everything from packaging to product design and retailing. Plastic is designed to last, and this is a problem because almost all the plastic ever created still exists in some form today. Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, and in the process, it releases harmful amounts of methane gas and leaks toxins into the soil.
The future of plastics will depend on how we make and manage them. The predominant approach to plastic waste recycling is mechanical recycling, but for many types of plastic, this does not work. As a result, a lot of plastic waste is not recycled but ends up in landfills or incinerated. To address the problem of plastic waste, we need to reduce the types of plastic from the thousands currently available to perhaps 10-20 key polymer types that can be easily identified, sorted, and recycled.
An alternative approach to plastic waste recycling is chemical recycling, which can break down plastic waste into raw materials to make new chemicals. Additionally, there are new kinds of plastic on the market, such as biodegradable plastics or bioplastics, which can easily biodegrade. Scientists have also created plant-based plastics using corn or sugarcane as a base material.
To make plastics more sustainable, we need to find better ways to deal with plastic waste and effectively defossilize plastics at the source. A report by the Royal Society highlights three alternatives to fossil resources currently used as raw materials in the plastics industry: biomass, plastic waste, and CO2 capture. All three can significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of plastics production by using virgin fossil-free routes to make plastics.
The future of plastics should aim for drastically reduced plastic consumption and eliminated plastic pollution. This can be achieved through better design, reuse, and recycling of plastics.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic is a composite containing a base material (a polymer) that can be moulded and shaped, generally while hot and under pressure.
The earliest known plastic manipulated by humans is believed to have been latex, used to craft balls and figurines around 1,600 years before our era in South America. However, modern synthetic plastics were invented around 100 years ago.
The development of plastics started with natural materials that exhibited plastic properties, such as shellac and chewing gum. The next step involved the chemical modification of natural materials like rubber, nitrocellulose, collagen and galalite. Finally, a wide range of completely synthetic materials that we would recognise as modern plastics started to be developed around a century ago. Plastic has become ubiquitous in modern society, used in everything from water bottles and food packaging to clothing, electronics, and more.
Plastic pollutes our landscapes, oceans, air, and bodies. It has even entered the fossil record. The degradation of plastics into microscopic particles is a significant environmental issue, as it pollutes our ocean, air, and ecosystems. The health implications of microplastic deposits in our bodies are not yet fully known.
