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The Plastic Age

Nithya Karambakkam

Audience: Middle and High School Students


Did you know? Every minute of every day, a truckload’s worth of plastic is being dumped into the ocean. Photo by Jonathan Chng from Unsplash.


You wake up in the morning to the grating sound of your alarm clock ringing. You reach over to press one of the red plastic buttons. When you can finally coax yourself awake, you head to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Your toothbrush is gray, with a standard plastic handle and nylon bristles. After you brush your teeth, you pull a few plastic Tupperware containers out of the fridge and start packing your lunch. You add in some bread for a snack, reaching into the thin store-provided plastic bag, and pack the whole meal in your lunchbox. Finally, you begin packing your backpack with all of your school necessities: durable plastic binders, a rectangular plastic pencil case, and mechanical pencils with 0.7mm pencil lead and plastic bodies. In the span of half an hour, you will have interacted with plastic countless times. Plastic has become ubiquitous, a fixture of our lives. Yet we’ve come to accept the word plastic without fully understanding its meaning. What really is plastic?


There is no singular definition for plastic. Generally, plastics refer to a variety of materials, all made of polymer-containing compounds. Polymers are made of monomers, compounds that can be connected through chemical reactions; when four or more of them connect, they form a polymer. Many of these substances, both natural and synthetic, exist. Plastics are synthetic polymers. They were first created in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt. Hyatt’s invention was improved and experimented with until it resulted in Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic. Today, plastics are extremely widespread: they are very versatile. They’re strong and durable, while still being flexible. They can be manipulated and molded in many ways and forms. They are lightweight and cheap. 


Plastics really can be found everywhere, and are present in items from medical equipment to footwear. We often focus on the harmful effects of excessive plastic use, but we fail to consider the merits which drove their popularity. Over a third of plastics consumption comes from the packaging sector. Plastics provide a variety of cheap and useful containers, and can actually reduce food wastage. They are also instrumental to healthcare and quality of life. They form countless vital medical devices, and provide mechanisms for the supply and storage of clean drinking water.. Additionally, they save energy by cutting down on manufacturing costs — a fact that is ironic, given that they’re often scapegoated as the cause of global warming. In reality, more energy is expended manufacturing a ceramic cup than a polystyrene cup. Finally, they promote animal welfare by replacing materials traditionally sourced from animals. That includes elephant tusks and tortoise shells. They were thought to be valuable commodities in the past, due to their rarity, but can now be substituted by plastics. The benefits of plastics exist, as long as we are willing to open our eyes to them.


On the other hand, there is truth to the widespread concern about plastics. They cause damage to the environment as they don’t degrade easily, causing buildup in all of the ecosystems around the world — most notably, the ocean. Only about 9% of all plastic is recyclable. Shockingly, traces of microplastics and nanoplastics have been discovered in all tested natural systems, sources of water, and types of food around the world. Plastics are inescapable, and we’ve only recently started discovering the full ramifications of that fact. The process of molding plastic products, which involves combining raw polymers in various forms, is called refining and manufacturing. The process itself causes immense damage to our planet. It releases extremely harmful emissions that can lead to fatal health conditions and genetic impacts. Workers and communities near production sites have been negatively affected by the emissions, and by harmful chemical substances in the plastics. The problem will only worsen as the amount of plastic in the world increases.


Many people in the world are now very cognizant of the dangers that using plastic poses, and are sharing their concerns about the health hazards associated with it. Numerous types of plastic are are difficult to dispose of since they are non biodegradable. Although it is true that plastics do have many issues associated with them, they remain an indispensable part of our lives. There is an ongoing effort to recycle more plastic and make it biodegradable, so that it is more environmentally-friendly. Scientists are working on solutions, such as bioplastics, which are made from plants instead of fossil fuels. Whether or not these experiments produce results, it’s clear that plastics are here to stay. They are such an integral part of our lives that their complete elimination would be virtually impossible.


In our present day and age, wherever we turn, we are faced with plastics. They have many benefits, such as making items stronger, lighter, and more affordable for consumers. However, they can be a serious health hazard. Many of them are not biodegradable, and there has been a lot of discussion around that fact. There are concerted efforts to replace traditional plastics with biodegradable plastics or bioplastics to mitigate the damage to the environment. However, plastics are firmly entrenched in our lives, and at this point in time, their benefits outweigh their negatives. If you snapped your fingers and made plastics disappear, the world would be panicking. All industries would be affected. Today, the world can’t function without plastics. Despite this, the reduction of plastic consumption remains a pertinent issue, and cannot be ignored. Take small steps to improve your plastic footprint! Doing something as small as using metal water bottles and straws instead of plastic ones can make a difference. 


Bibliography

Anderson, Elisabeth , et al. “Real-Time Science – What’s Plastic?” Center for Research on Ingredient Safety, 29 Jan. 2024, 


Andrady, Anthony L., and Mike A. Neal. “Applications and Societal Benefits of Plastics.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 364, no. 1526, 27 July 2009, pp. 1977–1984, 


British Plastics Federation. “Benefits of Plastics.” Bpf.co.uk, 2019, www.bpf.co.uk/Industry/Benefits_of_Plastics.aspx. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.


Center for International Environmental Law. “The Toxic Impacts of Plastic across Its Lifecycle.” Center for International Environmental Law, www.ciel.org/the-toxic-impacts-of-plastic-across-its-lifecycle/. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.


Giving Compass. “12 Facts about Plastic Pollution You Need to Know.” Giving Compass, 6 May 2023, 


Logomasini, Angela. “How Plastics Benefit Wildlife and the Environment.” Competitive Enterprise Institute, 31 Aug. 2021, cei.org/studies/how-plastics-benefit-wildlife-and-the-environment/. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.


“Plastics of the Future Will Have Many Past Lives, Thanks to Chemical Recycling | NSF - National Science Foundation.” New.nsf.gov, 25 Oct. 2022, new.nsf.gov/news/plastics-future-will-have-many-past-lives-thanks. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.


UNEP. “Understanding Plastic Pollution and Its Impact on Lives.” Africa Renewal, 5 June 2023, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-2023/understanding-plastic-pollution-and-its-impact-lives. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.


Science History Institute. “History and Future of Plastics.” Science History Institute, 2024, www.sciencehistory.org/education/classroom-activities/role-playing-games/case-of-plastics/history-and-future-of-plastics/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

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