Maya Ellison
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the Plastics Age due to the material's influence and ubiquity in modern life. Plastic is now an indispensable part of our daily lives, from pillows and toothbrushes to keyboards and food containers. However, the history of plastics goes back much further. For centuries, people have harnessed the plastic properties of natural materials like rubber, amber, horn, and tortoise shell by heating and moulding them into various objects. The earliest known plastic manipulated by humans is believed to have been latex, used around 1600 BCE in South America. The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who treated cellulose derived from cotton fibre with camphor to create a plastic that could imitate natural substances. This discovery revolutionized manufacturing by freeing it from the limitations of natural resources.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First synthetic polymer invented | 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt |
| First fully synthetic plastic | Bakelite, 1907, by Leo Baekeland |
| Plasticity | Allows moulding into any shape |
| Polymers | Large molecules, consisting of a chain of repeating smaller molecules (monomers) |
| Polymerisation | Combining monomers (e.g. ethylene gas) by heat and pressure |
| Natural plastics | Horn, tortoiseshell, amber, rubber, shellac |
| Synthetic resins | Vulcanised rubber, discovered by Charles Goodyear |
| Synthetic resins | Casein plastics, derived from milk, developed by Erinoid |
| Synthetic resins | Phenol formaldehyde, used by Rolls Royce in car interiors |
| Plastic production (worldwide, per year) | 400 million metric tons (2023); 460 million metric tons (2022) |
| Plastic production (1950-2017) | 9.2 billion metric tons |
| Plastic use | Sewage systems, medical devices, construction materials, automobiles, furniture, toys, pillows, toothbrushes, keyboards, containers, etc. |
| Plastic benefits | Lightweight, durable, flexible, chemically resistant, low toxicity, low-cost production |
| Plastic drawbacks | Environmental impact, health impact, socioeconomic impact, slow decomposition rate, waste |
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What You'll Learn
Early plastics
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age", and it's hard to imagine life without plastics. However, the history of plastic goes back much further. Early plastics were natural polymers, derived from non-fossil raw materials such as oil, and were used by humans as early as 1600 BCE in South America, where latex was crafted into balls and figurines. Other natural polymers used in antiquity include rubber, amber, horn, and tortoiseshell, which were heated and moulded into various objects. Medieval craftsmen, for example, made lantern windows out of translucent slices of animal horn.
By the 19th century, the usage of plastics experienced significant growth with the development of synthetic plastics. One of the earliest examples of modern plastics was invented by British inventor Alexander Parkes, who displayed an early plastic material called Parkesine at the 1862 International Exhibition in London. Parkesine was made from cellulose (derived from cotton fibre or wood) and could be crafted into a variety of shapes, imitating natural substances like tortoiseshell, horn, linen, and ivory. This discovery was revolutionary as, for the first time, human manufacturing was not constrained by the limits of nature.
In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt created the first synthetic polymer. Inspired by a New York firm's offer of $10,000 for an ivory substitute, Hyatt treated cellulose from cotton fibre with camphor to create a plastic that could be crafted into a variety of shapes. This discovery further contributed to the growing popularity of synthetic plastics.
In the early 20th century, the world's first fully synthetic plastic, Bakelite, was invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland, who coined the term "plastics". Bakelite was followed by the discovery of polyethylene in 1939 and the introduction of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in 1941, which is used to manufacture rigid products such as bottles and containers. During World War II, petrochemical companies turned crude oil into plastic, and in the postwar years, plastic became widely used in mass consumer goods such as Tupperware.
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Natural materials with plastic properties
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age" due to the influence and widespread adoption of plastics. However, humans have been using naturally derived plastics for centuries. Natural materials with plastic properties include:
Horn
Animal horns, made of keratin, have been used since antiquity for various purposes, including the creation of lantern windows in the medieval period. In the 19th century, the comb-making industry was one of the biggest applications of horn.
Tortoiseshell
Tortoiseshell is another natural material with plastic properties that has been worked with since ancient times.
Rubber
Rubber is a natural polymer that has been used for over a millennium. In the 1840s, Charles Goodyear and Thomas Hancock patented "vulcanised" rubber, treating it to improve its durability.
Shellac
Shellac is a natural resin secreted by female lac bugs and has been used as a natural plastic.
Cellulose
Cellulose, derived from plant fibres, was used by Alexander Parkes to create "Parkesine," considered a breakthrough in modern plastics. John Wesley Hyatt later built upon this invention to create the first synthetic polymer in 1869.
Bioplastics
Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as corn starch, rice starch, cellulose, and proteins. They are biodegradable and provide eco-friendly alternatives for packaging and single-use items. While bioplastics have been around since the early 20th century, they are gaining renewed interest due to their potential to reduce the environmental impact of conventional plastics.
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Synthetic plastics
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age" due to the influence and widespread adoption of plastics in society. Plastics are polymers, which are large molecules consisting of a chain of repeating smaller molecules (monomers). The process of combining these monomers through heat and pressure is called polymerisation.
The development of plastics started with natural materials that exhibited plastic properties, such as shellac and chewing gum. The next step in the evolution of plastics involved the chemical modification of natural materials such as rubber, nitrocellulose, collagen, and galalite. These natural plastics have been used since antiquity, with the earliest known plastic manipulated by humans believed to be latex, used around 1,600 years before the Common Era in South America.
The world's first fully synthetic plastic was Bakelite, invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland, who coined the term "plastics". However, some sources cite the first synthetic polymer as being invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who treated cellulose derived from cotton fibre with camphor to create a plastic that could be crafted into various shapes and imitate natural substances. This discovery was revolutionary as it freed human manufacturing from the limits of nature, allowing the creation of new materials.
Since the development of synthetic plastics, dozens of different types have been produced, such as polyethylene, widely used in product packaging, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), used in construction and pipes for its strength and durability. The production of plastics offers many benefits, such as lightweight and durable materials, but it also has substantial environmental, health, and socioeconomic impacts. Microplastics, for example, contain harmful chemicals that can leak into the air, water, and food, contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer and the formation of garbage patches in the ocean.
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Plastic production growth
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age" due to the influence and ubiquity of plastic materials. Plastics are now an integral part of daily life, from pillows and toothbrushes to keyboards and food containers. The defining characteristic of plastics, their plasticity, allows them to be moulded, extruded, or pressed into various solid forms. This adaptability, combined with their low weight, durability, flexibility, chemical resistance, low toxicity, and low-cost production, has led to their widespread adoption worldwide.
The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who treated cellulose derived from cotton fibre with camphor. This discovery was revolutionary as it freed human manufacturing from the limitations of natural resources. However, the Plastics Age truly took off in the early 20th century, with the invention of Bakelite, the world's first fully synthetic plastic, in 1907. Since then, dozens of different types of plastics have been produced, such as polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
The growth of plastic production has been remarkable, with an estimated 9.2 billion metric tons of plastic produced between 1950 and 2017, and more than half of this amount produced since 2004. In 2022, global plastic production surpassed 400 million metric tons, with China and North America being the top two producers. If global trends continue, annual production is projected to exceed 1.3 billion tons by 2060. This rapid growth is largely fuelled by the availability of cheap shale gas and investments from the fossil industries.
While plastic has brought numerous benefits, such as medical devices and lightweight construction materials, it has also become a significant environmental concern. Plastics have a slow decomposition rate, and most plastic is not reused or recycled and ends up in landfills or as plastic pollution. Marine plastic pollution, including microplastics, has created garbage patches in our oceans, affecting wildlife and ecosystems. To address this issue, efforts have been made to reduce plastic production, improve waste management, and develop sustainable alternatives. However, plastic waste management varies across the world, with higher-income countries often contributing to better management practices.
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Plastic environmental impact
The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, inspired by a New York firm's offer of a monetary prize for anyone who could provide an alternative to ivory. Hyatt's discovery of plastic, derived from cellulose and cotton fibre, was revolutionary as it meant human manufacturing was no longer constrained by nature.
However, the 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the "Plastics Age", and the dominance of plastic has led to widespread environmental concerns. Plastic does not break down in the environment and can accumulate in air, water, soil, and ecosystems, including the oceans. Marine plastic pollution creates garbage patches, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which has been described as a swirl of plastic the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean.
Plastics are derived from fossil fuels, and their production can release toxins and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. They can also contain harmful chemicals, including known or suspected carcinogens, which can leach into the surrounding environment and contaminate air, water, and food sources. This has led to microplastics and nanoplastics being found in all sources of water, types of food, and human tissue. The ingestion or inhalation of microplastics can lead to health issues such as chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and stroke.
Single-use plastics are a particular target for activists, as they pollute ecosystems, leach chemicals into food, and accumulate in landfills. While the plastics industry has promoted recycling as a solution, most plastics still end up in landfills or the environment, and only a small fraction is economically or technically viable to recycle. To reduce the environmental impact of plastics, production and use should be lowered, and alternatives to plastics should be proactively developed and deployed.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic is a term used to describe materials that can be formed and moulded under heat and pressure. The polymers' shape is what gives plastics their plasticity, allowing them to be moulded into any shape.
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, the first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt.
The first synthetic polymers were created to serve as a substitute for ivory in the production of billiard balls. By treating cellulose derived from cotton fibre with camphor, Hyatt discovered a plastic that could be crafted into a variety of shapes and made to imitate natural substances like tortoiseshell, horn, linen, and ivory.
The 20th and 21st centuries have been dubbed the ""Plastics Age" due to the influence and ubiquity of plastic materials. Plastic is now used in a wide range of applications, from medical devices to construction materials, automobiles, furniture, and toys.
