PLASTIC

Plasticisaveryabundantmaterialallovertheworld.Centuriesago,very
primitiveformsofitwereproducedfromtheplantandanimalbitsfoundinnature
(gross),butnowitsusedforallsortsofthings,fromtoys,tomusic,contruction,food,
engineering,younameit.Butwithsomanythingsthatuseplastic,howdoweknowits
aqualitymaterial?Wellstrapin,kiddies,becausethatswhatwereheretofindout.

OriginsinAmerica
ThefirstappearanceofthemoremodernplasticsinAmericawasin
1863,whenamanbythenameofJohnWesleyHyattattemptedtomakeasubstitute
forivorybilliardballsfora$10,000prize.Whilehedidntwinthemoney,hedidmanage
tocreatethefirstformofcelluloid,oneofthefirstpatented,commerciallysuccessful
plastics.Updatesandrefinementshavebeenmadetotheprocessingofplasticto
createthousandsofdifferentkinds,eachwithdifferentfunctions.

Celluloidisanearlyformofmodernplastics.Itismuchlessreliablethanother
plasticsaretoday.Itwearsmorequicklyandhasalowermeltingpoint,so
eventuallysomethingthatlookslikeTHISwillenduplookinglikeT
H

ThisisapictureofMr.Hyatt.Hemaybedead,buthiscontributionswillalwaysbe
remembered.

AnothermanwhocontributedtomodernplasticisLeoHendrikBaekeland,who
helpedcreateVelox,whichwouldbeusedasphotographicmaterialfortheEastman
Kodakcompany,thesamecompanywhostillmakescamerastothisday.


ThisisBaekeland.Icantthinkofanybaejokestomake.

Howisitmade?
Aspecialprocesshastotakeplacefortheplastictobemanufactured.
Firstly,therawmaterialsmustbegatheredtocreatethepolymer.Thematerialsusedto
becollectedfromplants,likethecellulosefromcottonandoilfromseeds.Nowadays,
plasticsaremostlymadefrompetrochemicals,whicharecheapertouse.Unfortunately,
oilisntarenewableresource,soscientistsarelookingfornewsourcesofraw
materials.

Thisisadiagramofcellulosemolecules.Plasticcangetcomplicated.

Afterthis,thematerialsarepolymerized.Thisiskindacomplicated,butit
basicallymeansthemoleculesarelinkedtogethertoformpolymerchains,likeinthe
pictureabove.Thendifferentchemicalsareaddedtogivetheplasticdifferent
properties,andtoincreasethedurabilityofit.Thisincludeschangingthecolor,

protectingfromweathering,andincreasingtheflexibilityofit.Thenitismoldedinto
whatevertheproductitwasmeanttobe.

Isitsafe?
Well,thatdepends.Areyouusingitasapencilcaseorafoodcontainer?If
so,itsperfectlysafe.Areyouusingitasasubstituteforlunch?Notsomuch.Plastic
isntdigestedverywell,soitllcomeoutlookingthesamewayitwentin,ifitllfit.Agood
chunkofplasticsarentproperlydisposedof,andtheycanendupinplacestheyshould
notbe,liketheocean,andoccasionallyinsideadyinganimal.Aboutamillionaquatic
animalsarekilledeachyearbecauseofplasticbeingtossedintotheoceanwillynilly.

Atleasttheplasticscameoutintact...

Isituseful/necessary?
Plasticsareusedinnearlyeverythingnowadays,fromyour
drinkingcupstoyoursmartphones.Itsversatile,soitcanbemoldedandshapedinto
anyformneededbyconsumers.Itsprettynecessarytomoderndaylife,too.Itsusedin
packagingfortonsofobjects.Itcanbethinnedouttowrapfoods,likesaranwrap,and
thickerforlargeritems,likedollsoractionfigures.Itsprettyhardtolivewithout.What
wouldtheworldbelikewithoutCDsandwaterbottles?


AplasticCDcaseholdingplasticCDs.

Canitbepackaged?
Totally.Youllprobablyevenuseaplasticcontainertoputitin,
too.

Itcanevenholdpeople!

Isitaffordable?
Plasticisfairlyeasytomanufacture,andcheapertousethanother
materials,makingiteasierforpeopletobuy.Itsworthit,consideringallthecommon
householdproductsthatcontainit.

Isitbiodegradable?
Notreally.Unlikethebirdfrombefore,plasticdoesnteasily
decompose.Respirometrytestsshowhowlongittakesforobjectstodecomposeby
speedinguptheprocess.Thingslikefruitandpaperworkfine,becausetherehave
beenrecordedinstancesofthemdecomposingnaturally.Plasticproductshowever,
haventbeenseentoeverdecompose.Somescientistsbelieveitwilltakearound500
yearsforplastictodecompose.
(link)

#plastic4days

Recently,manufacturesarecreatingproductswithnewkindsofbiodegradableplastic,
whichwillbebetterfortheenvironment.

Isitgreen?

Looksprettygreentome.

Isitecofriendly?
Thisisatoughone.Mostplasticsarerecyclable,sothiscanslow
theconstantproductionofnewmaterial.However,beingrecyclableandactuallybeing
recycledaretwodifferentthings.In2009,forexample,around30milliontonsofplastic
productswereproducedintheUS,butonlyabout2millionwererecycled.Thatsless
than7%!Dontforget,theyarentbiodegradableeither,sotheyllbestickingaround
longafterweregone.


Theplasticthatisntrecycledusuallyendsupinlandfills,andsinceitdoesnt
decompose,itjustkeepspilingup.Notonlyisitawasteitsprettygrosstoo.

Verdict:
Plasticisareallyunderratedcontributiontotheworld.Ithasamassivearrayof
usesandforms,anditsversatilitycanbeappliedtonearlyeverything,like
entertainment,construction,storage,andmedicine.Howeveronequalitythathindersits
reliabilityisitsecounfriendlyness.Withsomanymarineanimalsdyingatthehandsof
thisstuff,theoilsbeingburnedtomakeit,andwiththeinsaneamountofplasticgoods
inlandfills,itstakingahardytollontheenvironment.Sountilthepeopleoftheworld
canfindawaytoputanendtoallofthis,Illgiveplastica
7/10.


Intheend,schoolpizzawillalwaysbemyfavoriteformofplastic.