Plastic Has Shaped The Modern Revolution

Plastic's end of life cycle involves being discarded, either recycled for reuse or dumped into a landfill or the ocean. Recycling's popularity has significantly grown since the 1970's, as well as the overall number of plastic products being produced. In addition, the amount of plastic products being created as significantly increased over the past 60 years. Due to the endurance of polymers, plastic is filling up landfills faster than it should and invading our natural habitats. Recycling is one of the most critical things we can do for our environment. It can cut down on the amount of plastic in landfills as well. Recycling plastic reduces the need to create more plastic, which also cuts down on oil use and pollutants being released into the air. In the time that recycling has become more popular, technology has advanced to create more job

In fact, many of the major plastics used today began when commissioned to be used for the war effort (Freinkel, 6). When plastic was first brought to The United States, the American people loved it. Not only can plastic imitate other materials, but it is also much more affordable. Overall, plastic is cheap. The leap in plastic produced from the ‘40s until now is extremely substantial. For instance, in 1940 plastic was hardly used, in 1960 a single American used close to 30 pounds of plastic per year, today each individual uses more than 300 pounds of plastic per year (Freinkel, 6). A major impact on the amount of plastic used is directly related to the way Americans, starting in the 1940s, were now able to mass produce plastic products. For instance, a single plastic comb making machine could reproduce ten combs in less than one minute (Freinkel, 22). Overall, plastic is relatively inexpensive and it is made for mass manufacture. Considering this it is east to see why plastic became so popular in the first place, it was a plastic miracle. However, there is a direct relationship between the amount of plastic produced and the amount of plastics that are being polluted into the

Plastics are also called polymers, are produced by natural products like oil, natural gas or coal.

Plastic is different to wood and metal because it was invented. It is man-made not made by nature like wood and metal are and it is a recent technological development because it was made only 40 years ago. It can have different things done to it to make it suit the task you want for example, you can change the color, make it unbreakable or make it hard. It’s cheaper to make products from plastic rather than wood or metal because it doesn’t need as much energy to manufacture.

avoid plastic as a whole will do us all a great deal of good. If we don't, we will surely

Plastic: A type of fabricated material made from organic polymers that can be molded into shape when soft.

The book discusses the origin of plastic; John Wesley Hyatt created one of the first synthetic plastic materials, celluloid, in 1869 (Freinkel, 2011, p. 16). His invention made it easier to create things at a much cheaper cost. As Freinkel puts it, “It helped fuel a growing demand for things, period” (Freinkel, 2011, p. 19). Ever since the growth of the plastic industry, our world has become one in which plastic is normal. In the introduction of her book, Freinkel walks around for a day recording everything

One material dominates the entire world, a material incapable of degrading for centuries and used in all facets of life. While very new to the earth, this synthetic polymer has flourished rapidly since the 1950’s, and, still at full throttle in the 21st century, the Age of Plastic sees no imminent end. Plastic continues to ascend at an exponential rate as its plethora of uses extends to new branches of technology and innovation. Even with their differences, both the working class American and the CEO of an industrialized company utilize plastic for its low cost and versatility. Nevertheless, humanity cannot sustain this nonrenewable resource for long, and eventually the issues of this material will one day outnumber the benefits.

"Plastic" entered the world through chemistry in 1909 and was originally coined to describe Bakelite, the first fully synthetic resin. What make's plastic so unique is when it is heated it can be molded but it retained its shape when cooled (Reddy, 2010). The modern plastic bag was not possible until the accidental discovery of the first industrially practical method of polyethylene synthesis in 1933. Fast forward to today, the use and

The film Plastic Planet takes an in- depth look of our modern world and it’s major production and consumption of plastic. Released in the year 2010, director Werner Boote reminisces on the time spent with his most memorable childhood figure, his grandfather. Whose fascination at the time was focused toward the production of plastic and what it held for the future to come. This fascination carried on into Boote’s adult life and after considerable research formed from around the world spurred him to ask the question, Is plastic dangerous? In completion, of this film analysis it is my goal to properly convey what was discussed within the hour and thirty- five minute film, and my analysis of the directors finished product.

In 1869, John Wesley invented the celluloid, the first plastic product to be given a name. In 1909, Bakelite is introduced to the chemist club in New York as the “first thermoset plastic”, meaning that once the plastic mold was set it was set for life. Everywhere we look there are plastics, we have become so accustomed to their presence that we can hardly remember a time when they did not serve our needs. Remember, there used to be a time where our cars, plates, furniture, and airplanes were not made almost entirely of plastic. Roughly 100 billion pounds of plastic pellets are used every year by the United States, and current figures from India and China are

People can be described as robots or machines when concerned with plastic. People constantly use plastic, they just use and use away. The cycle of plastic for the most part doesn’t have a reuse portion to it;

Polymers are also commonly referred to as plastics so now you can put in to perspective how much we use polymers. You can also realize

Where does all the plastic go. Every bit of plastic that has been created is still here. This is because plastic is one-hundred percent non-biodegradable! Even the most degraded plastic down to polymers cannot be digested by bacteria (Laist, 1997). If global issues like starvation and climate change are not enough to stress on, the weight of an issue literally churning in the Pacific Ocean is startling. For decades the majority of the world’s population has not been properly educated on the nature of plastic and the potential harm it can do to our environment and our physical health. Due to factors of man and the natural effects of nature, a major problem has developed that is now harming our food.

Since the beginning Polymers have been with us; they form the very basis of life. Until the middle of the 20thcentury we were unaware but slowly and gradually we began to understand the true nature of polymers. This understanding came with the development of plastics, which are materials truly mady by man that are the ultimate tribute to man’s creativity and ingenuity. The use of polymeric materials has permeated in every facet of our lives. It is hard to visualize today’s world with all its luxury and comfort without man-made polymeric materials.